Conditions for sustainable decommissioning of offshore wind turbines

This paper highlights the dilemmas surrounding current decommissioning practices and the legislation and steps necessary to achieve sustainable decommissioning. We describe challenges with respect to nature inclusivity and circularity that arise when decommissioning offshore wind farms. The paper defines a set of policy recommendations for the EU and Member States to improve the conditions for enhancing the sustainable decommissioning of OWFs. The authors translate this into a first draft of decision-making principles that need to be considered during the design phase of an OWF in order to include the aspects of nature inclusiveness, the life span and the circularity.