Van Oord and Ecowende kick off with nature-enhancing scour protection
Wednesday 24 September 2025
Offshore operations at our Hollandse Kust West wind farm have officially commenced with the start of eco-friendly scour protection works. This marks a significant milestone for the wind farm that has the ambition to become the most ecological wind farm to date. Van Oord’s subsea rock installation vessels Nordnes and Bravenes have been deployed to install scour protection optimised to enhance marine biodiversity.
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 Hollandse Kust West, the scour protection design is being taken to a new, nature-inclusive level.
Innovative scour protection designs
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.
Scour protection as active contributor to marine biodiversity
Van Oord’s and Ecowende’s approach transforms scour protection from a protective measure into an active contributor to marine biodiversity. Once installed, the different designs will be carefully monitored to evaluate their ecological performance and long-term impact.
New benchmark
A milestone for Van Oord is the installation of the 60–300 kg grading, including rocks weighing up to 450 kg, with the Bravenes. This pushes the vessel to its operational limits and sets a new benchmark for large-scale, biodiversity-focused scour protection works in offshore wind.
Jelle Muller, Project Engineer Ecology at Ecowende: “We’re excited to kick-off the installation of our wind farm and begin making a positive ecological impact from day one. This milestone showcases the collaboration between ecologists, engineers, and operational experts, delivering both on our ecological targets and a solution that could be fit for future wind farms.”
Text and visuals in cooperation with Van Oord.