RWE, in collaboration with the British company ARC Marine, has carried out the world's first installation of particularly environmentally friendly Reef cubes® as protection around offshore wind turbine foundations at the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm off the south coast of England.
Around 75,000 Reef cubes, measuring between 15 and 35 centimetres, have been placed at the foot of one of the turbines in the park. The project, called Reef Enhancement for Scour Protection (RESP), is the first full-scale project where the patented cubes are used as so-called scour protection – a method of preventing erosion around foundations.
Traditionally, layers of stone are used as protection against erosion around turbine foundations. Reef cubes® provide an alternative that also increases biodiversity by creating habitats for fish and shellfish. At just one of the turbines, the cubes provide a new habitat area of 25,000 square meters.
- This pilot project marks an important step forward in the work of testing solutions that can both protect our facilities and contribute to the marine environment. We look forward to following the results and sharing the experiences with our stakeholders and the rest of the industry, says Thomas Michel, COO of RWE Offshore Wind.
The project will now enter a monitoring phase, where biological and technical studies between 2026 and 2030 will assess the effect of the cubes as protection and their importance for marine life. The first results are expected to be shared in 2026.
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