Oil and gas and offshore wind developments are evolving and are now occupying the same areas in the southern North Sea. Similar trends can be observed in the central and northern North Sea where increasing numbers of renewable energy structures are being deployed in similar areas to existing oil and gas infrastructure. As developments move further offshore and the size and number of operating units increases, the amount of substrate and the role of renewable energy structures in the ecosystem will naturally increase.

This growing number of structures, when considered with the oil and gas infrastructure, represents a significant network that is central to the research being performed under the INSITE Programme.

The download below 'The INSITE programme and Offshore Renewables' offers a more in depth review of the considerations relative to renewables structures today.