‘World-first’ eco-friendly cable protection system deployed offshore Scotland

What is said to be the world’s first eco-friendly cable protection system has been deployed at sea, The Crown Estate, UK seabed manager, reported.

The UK’s Crown Estate announced that earlier this month the world’s first carbon-neutral and plastic-free cable protection was deployed off the coast of Scotland, in place of the traditional concrete protection systems which release a lot of carbon.

Cefas and partners ARC Marine deployed the first marine mattresses to help protect biodiversity at the Meygen tidal array in Scotland.

According to Cefas, marine matts are designed to be a more environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to traditional concrete mattresses used to protect subsea power cables for offshore wind as they are carbon-neutral, less disruptive to the marine environment, and can provide a more suitable habitat for coral, mussels, crabs, lobsters, starfish and fish to flourish.

The work is part of the Nature Inclusive Cable Enhancement and Protection (NICE) project led by Cefas in partnership with ARC Marine, aimed at contributing to a more environmentally sustainable transition to net zero.

Funded by The Crown Estate’s Offshore Wind Evidence and Change (OWEC) Programme, the project aims to better understand the ecological impact of standard subsea cable protection technologies versus newer, more nature-friendly alternatives, providing vital evidence to help policymakers and developers shape the future of offshore wind in the UK.

NICE is one of four Cefas-led collaborative projects being supported through £1.4 million of funding from the OWEC Programme.