ABPmer is developing a database on hard protection from offshore wind cable burial, on behalf of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO). The database will help improve cumulative effects assessments, particularly by enhancing understanding of hard protection distribution in marine protected areas (MPAs) designed to safeguard seabed features. It will also support evidence-based decision-making for offshore wind licence conditions in English Waters.
With offshore wind farms (OWFs) expected to grow significantly, with over 42 GW in the pre-application stage, the associated subsea cabling is set to increase as well. Current estimates predict 5,000 km of array cables and 4,000 km of export cables will be installed between 2019 and 2029. However, the full extent of anthropogenic hard substrate on the seabed is not yet fully mapped, though some progress has been made. ABPmer is using industry data to build a geospatial database that maps the location and footprint of hard protection related to OWF cable burial, alongside other relevant data layers.
The mapping will include cable protection, as well as the locations of remedial works to address cable burial failures. These will be examined in relation to environmental data to better understand the causes of cable burial failures that require hard protection. The report and database are expected to be publicly available by autumn 2025.
