Scientists tested 179 saithe, tusk, and ling around offshore structures in Norway, and the ling caught at Hywind Tampen were in significantly poorer condition than those at the comparison sites

Offshore floating structures, such as wind farms, are growing in capacity and affecting local species in deeper waters.

Renewable energy infrastructure is expanding in open waters to meet rising electricity demand globally.

While shallow water impacts have become more common knowledge, the long-term consequences in the deep ocean remain more uncertain.

The goal was to evaluate the “artificial reef effect” of floating structures and how they influence different factors.

Research conducted in Norway indicates that these ecological changes can vary among the same species.

Will Norwegian marine biodiversity survive the offshore energy evolution?

How offshore power is key to meeting coastal green goals

Densely populated coastal regions are experiencing a major surge in electricity demand.

These areas consume more than 75% of the world’s primary energy.

Projections indicate that this consumption is expected to increase by 60 to 80 percent by 2050.

This high usage complicates meeting international climate regulations.

Regional grids must transition to carbon-free sources to achieve green targets.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change mandates that renewables must account for up to 85% of global power.

However, coastal regions have limited development space.

As a result, offshore energy infrastructure is increasing to overcome these land scarcity challenges.

Global capacity in open waters is now rapidly scaling toward hundreds of gigawatts of power.

This high-density generation is key to decarbonizing coastal nations.

But shallow deployment is now facing spatial limitations of its own, necessitating a move to the deep sea.

This has given rise to major offshore floating installations capturing high-capacity wind.

The barriers of ocean deployment

Offshore wind power has become a popular clean energy source globally.

By the end of 2025, standard fixed-bottom wind capacity had reached 92.2 GW.

This popularity soon hit a bottleneck, as these turbines are limited to depths under 200 feet.

Additionally, shallow nearshore areas are highly congested with commercial fisheries, maritime traffic, and other ocean uses.

This congestion led to developers seeking deeper waters for offshore deployment.

Floating structures have become key to harnessing offshore wind in the deep-sea.

This infrastructure is especially vital for countries like Norway, as the Norwegian continental shelf drops rapidly.

Now, the North Sea, with depths up to nearly 1,000 feet, is hosting these structures to capture powerful, consistent winds.

In general, offshore deployment has ecological footprints.

Decades of research have documented the impacts of foundation-based turbines.

However, the long-term biological effects of floating wind are primarily undocumented.

This is about to change thanks to offshore structure research in Norway.

Floating wind and the effects on deep-water wildlife

As floating wind grows in the North Sea, researchers are carefully monitoring the impacts on resident marine life.

In the Norwegian region, locations exceeding depths of 320 feet were specifically targeted.

The goal was to evaluate the “artificial reef effect” of floating structures and how they influence different factors.

Focus was placed on commercially vital codfish species, analyzing 179 fish.

Samples were collected from the Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind farm and two oil and gas platforms.

Control groups from undisturbed sites were used for comparison.

Tracking biological changes on codfish species

Isotope analyses were conducted on muscle and liver tissues to respectively map long-term and short-term dietary patterns.

For most species, like saithe and tusk, diet and habitat use remained primarily the same.

Short-term liver findings indicated minimal deviation from control sites.

Ling caught at Hywind Tampen had a much poorer physical condition.

Floating offshore structures offer ideal shelter to fish species like the cod.

The structures also attract other hard substrates like barnacles, algae, and smaller fish, creating a localized food web.

Despite the food proliferation and physical shelter, the study’s findings prove that localized trade-offs can occur.

This means that for certain species like the ling, food availability and dietary quality can decrease.

Ultimately, potential local impacts must be carefully monitored to ensure marine biodiversity protection.

The study findings can be reviewed using APA CITE: Andrews AJ and Brooks S (2026) Stable isotope insights into artificial reef effects of floating offshore energy structures in Norwegian North Sea codfishes. Front. Mar. Sci. 13:1743207. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2026.1743207.