Version 1
: Received: 4 September 2024 / Approved: 4 September 2024 / Online: 5 September 2024 (02:44:22 CEST)
How to cite:
Forastiero, M.; Gutierrez, R.; Weschenfelder, F.; de Almeida, E.; Hernández, J. C. Evaluating the Effects of Offshore Wind Farms: Environmental and Social Perspectives from Uruguay. Preprints2024, 2024090380. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0380.v1
Forastiero, M.; Gutierrez, R.; Weschenfelder, F.; de Almeida, E.; Hernández, J. C. Evaluating the Effects of Offshore Wind Farms: Environmental and Social Perspectives from Uruguay. Preprints 2024, 2024090380. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0380.v1
Forastiero, M.; Gutierrez, R.; Weschenfelder, F.; de Almeida, E.; Hernández, J. C. Evaluating the Effects of Offshore Wind Farms: Environmental and Social Perspectives from Uruguay. Preprints2024, 2024090380. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0380.v1
APA Style
Forastiero, M., Gutierrez, R., Weschenfelder, F., de Almeida, E., & Hernández, J. C. (2024). Evaluating the Effects of Offshore Wind Farms: Environmental and Social Perspectives from Uruguay. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0380.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Forastiero, M., Everton de Almeida and Jesús C. Hernández. 2024 "Evaluating the Effects of Offshore Wind Farms: Environmental and Social Perspectives from Uruguay" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0380.v1
Abstract
Installation of offshore wind farms is rising, driven by the goal of changing the global energy matrix. However, many of its possible impacts are still unknown. Increased noise levels, disruptions to food chains, pollution due to traffic, and impacts on fishing communities and tourism are all potential effects to consider. Marine habitats are essential carbon dioxide sinks. Therefore, losing marine biodiversity due to offshore wind farms can be counterproductive in mitigating climate change. Balancing biodiversity conservation, wind potential, and political interests is challenging. Today, Uruguay has practically decarbonized its electrical matrix, incorporating wind, solar, and biomass energy alongside hydroelectricity. In line with this, the country's Hydrogen Roadmap highlights green hydrogen as relevant, potentially serving as a transportation fuel for both domestic consumption and export. Combining the country's strong base of wind experience with its sustainable policy, it plans to implement offshore wind farms to produce green hydrogen, making studies of its impacts crucial. This paper reviews the current social and environmental information on the Uruguayan coastal habitat, analyzes onshore wind farms' ecological studies, and examines offshore wind farms' global environmental and social impacts. Finally, it proposes suggested studies for environmental approval for offshore wind farms.
Keywords
Environmental impacts; Social impacts; Offshore Wind Farms
Subject
Engineering, Energy and Fuel Technology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.