RESP Reef Enhancement for Scour Protection at Rampion Offshore Wind Farm

With the EU’s Strategy on Offshore Renewable Energy setting ambitious targets for expanding offshore wind capacity, there is growing pressure to ensure that supporting infrastructure keeps pace in a sustainable way.

Traditional scour protection, typically made from imported quarried rock, carries a high carbon footprint and provides little ecological value. Extraction and long-distance transport add further emissions and disturbance, making this approach increasingly incompatible with modern environmental goals.

The industry needed a durable, low-impact alternative that could protect turbine foundations while enhancing marine biodiversity. This challenge aligns directly with ARC marine’s mission to design infrastructure that supports both renewable energy development and ocean restoration.

ARC marine developed and manufactured more than 75,000 Reef cubes® for the RESP (Reef Enhancement for Scour Protection) project at RWE’s Rampion Offshore Wind Farm.

The RESP system replaces traditional rock armour with a modular, UK-manufactured solution that protects turbine foundations while encouraging marine life to return to the seabed. Each Reef cube® features a rough surface texture and central chamber designed to attract species such as European seabass, brown crab and common starfish.

Offshore wind farms have limited access for non-maintenance vessels such as fishing boats, which makes them ideal locations for the creation of long-term artificial reefs. These stable, low-disturbance environments help support seabed recovery and wider ecological regeneration over time.

By turning the base of each turbine into a thriving reef, the RESP project demonstrates how offshore wind infrastructure can deliver engineering performance and measurable ecological benefit. It provides a blueprint for Nature-Inclusive Design (NID) that meets both EU policy goals and industry demand for sustainable offshore solutions.