Offshore wind farms could become the next frontier for sustainable food production

Teis Boderskov (Aarhus University) and Mads Hecter (Kerteminde Seafarm) harvesting sugar kelp at the Vesterhav Syd offshore wind farm in May 2026. Credit: Mads Hecter, Kerteminde Seafarm

When people think about offshore wind farms, they usually think about renewable energy. But between the turbines, another valuable resource could be produced: food.

Over the past 15 years, researchers and industry partners have developed and refined methods for cultivating sugar kelp in Danish waters. The results show that seaweed can be grown at large scale, thrives under offshore conditions and absorbs nutrients from the surrounding marine environment as it grows.

Now, researchers believe offshore wind farms could become the next frontier for seaweed production.

"We have the technology. We are ready to cultivate seaweed at scale. What we need now are partners who can use and market the products seaweed farmers are capable of producing," says Annette Bruhn, senior researcher at the Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University.