Webinar nature enhancing scour protection

Scour protection is installed around the base of a monopile to prevent erosion caused by strong currents and waves. By stabilising the seabed, it ensures the structural integrity of the turbine foundation. For the Ecowende wind farm, the scour protection design is being taken to a new, nature-inclusive level.

In close collaboration with Ecowende, Van Oord has developed four innovative scour protection designs, each progressively more complex. These designs use stones of varying sizes, including a grading of 60–300 kg and with some stones up to 450 kg, to create larger openings and crevices between the rocks. These gaps provide shelter for fish and other marine species, while specially designed bays along the scour protection extend the length of habitat available.

The combination of variations in stone size and crevices, together with bay structures, enhances lee zones and creates more variety in open spaces; the rock–sand interface stimulates a richer and more diverse marine ecosystem, supporting species such as the threatened Atlantic cod.

Watch the webinar of 8 October 2025.