Final report

The JIP-LIFE project investigated whether water replenishment holes (WRHs) in offshore wind monopiles allows for the interior of monopile foundations to develop into a viable ecological habitat. Monitoring, ecological analysis, and modelling showed that monopile interiors—with WRHs facilitating the exchange of seawater—may form a distinct, sheltered habitat. The environment supports a unique assemblage of species which suggests that WRH, when appropriately sized and configured, can maintain internal oxygen and food conditions at levels suitable for these communities. Suboptimal WRH designs, however, may create zones of low oxygen, particularly near the seabed.