Offshore wind farms and marine protected areas in European waters: Better apart than together

This article addresses the ongoing debate on the desirability of locating offshore wind farms (OWFs) within, or near marine protected areas (MPAs), bearing in mind the trade-off between the need to meet renewable energy targets and the equally important need to meet biodiversity conservation targets. In essence, this article contends that OWFs should not, as a general rule, be considered to be a biodiversity conservation tool, nor a "de facto MPA" and any such claim should be demonstrated case by case. Indeed, as a first principle, OWFs should not be allowed to be developed within or near Natura 2000 sites -nor other type of area devoted to biodiversity conservation or the management and recovery of fish stocks. A new concept is proposed for the spatial planning of OWFs: "Not in marine protected areas" (NIMPA). This strategy entails searching for alternative sites that prioritize already degraded sea bottoms and industrialized areas.