Project
Establishing a Framework for Quantifiable Evidence of Ecosystem Change in Floating Offshore Wind (EQUIFy)
EQUIFy is a pioneering research project led by Plymouth Marine Laboratory under the NERC and The Crown Estate Ecological Effects of Floating Offshore Wind (ECOFlow) programme. The project will develop a robust, transferable framework to quantify and understand ecosystem change across the full lifecycle of floating offshore wind (FLOW) developments. Focusing on planned expansion in the Celtic Sea, EQUIFy will integrate modelling, autonomous monitoring, and decision-support tools to improve understanding of environmental impacts and support faster, evidence-based consenting decisions for sustainable offshore wind growth.
Overview
EQUIFy is a pioneering research project designed to develop a transferable, evidence-based framework for assessing ecosystem change associated with floating offshore wind (FLOW) developments across their full lifecycle.
The project focuses on supporting the sustainable expansion of FLOW in UK waters, with a particular emphasis on planned developments in the Celtic Sea.
It combines environmental science, engineering, social science, and digital innovation to improve understanding of how offshore wind interacts with marine ecosystems under a changing climate and evolving ocean use.
Why EQUIFy Matters
The UK’s transition to renewable energy depends on scaling offshore wind responsibly. However, there are still critical gaps in understanding:
- How floating offshore wind affects marine ecosystems at different scales
- How impacts interact with other pressures such as fishing, shipping, and climate change
- How to translate complex environmental data into decision-ready evidence
EQUIFy addresses these challenges by creating robust, scalable tools to support both policy and industry.
Aims and Objectives
EQUIFy will:
- Develop a quantifiable framework for assessing ecosystem change across FLOW lifecycles
- Integrate autonomous monitoring systems with advanced modelling approaches
- Create decision-support tools to inform planning and consenting
- Improve understanding of environmental impacts from turbine to regional sea scale
- Support evidence-based policy for sustainable offshore wind expansion
