Offshore wind power generation represents a chance to supply energy in a more sustainable way; however, the ecological risks associated with the construction and operation of offshore wind farms are still largely unknown. This paper uses the concept of ecological risk for analysing ecological changes during construction of offshore wind farms. “Ecological risk” is defined as the potentially reduced ability of providing ecosystem services. The ERSEM ecosystem model allows assessing ecological risk based on a number of selected variables (integrity indicators) and under the assumption that increased suspended matter concentration during construction of wind farms affects ecosystem functioning. We conclude that ecological risk is adequate to describe the effects of wind farm constructions, although the computation procedure still needs to be refined and the choice of indicators further optimised. In this context, the choice of indicators available in modelling as well as in monitoring time-series may offer the way forward

@article{ERAATFETEO08,
	author	 = {Corinna Nunneri and Hermann Lenhart and Benjamin Burkhard and Wilhelm Windhorst},
	title	 = {{Ecological risk as a tool for evaluating the effects of offshore wind farm construction
      in the North Sea}},
	year	 = {2008},
	month	 = {03},
	publisher	 = {Springer},
	address	 = {Berlin / Heidelberg, Germany},
	journal	 = {Regional Environmental Change},
	series	 = {8-1},
	pages	 = {31--43},
	issn	 = {1436-3798},
	doi	 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10113-008-0045-9},
	abstract	 = {Offshore wind power generation represents a chance to supply energy in a more
      sustainable way; however, the ecological risks associated with the construction and operation
      of offshore wind farms are still largely unknown. This paper uses the concept of ecological
      risk for analysing ecological changes during construction of offshore wind farms. “Ecological
      risk” is defined as the potentially reduced ability of providing ecosystem services. The ERSEM
      ecosystem model allows assessing ecological risk based on a number of selected variables
      (integrity indicators) and under the assumption that increased suspended matter concentration
      during construction of wind farms affects ecosystem functioning. We conclude that ecological
      risk is adequate to describe the effects of wind farm constructions, although the computation
      procedure still needs to be refined and the choice of indicators further optimised. In this
      context, the choice of indicators available in modelling as well as in monitoring time-series
      may offer the way forward},
}