General – Noise Mitigation
Chantiers de l’Atlantique, EDF power solutions, Heerema Marine Contractors, Menck, RTE, Sealence and Smulders have formed a consortium to develop a cutting-edge noise mitigation system for offshore wind operations.
The growth of offshore renewable energy presents an important opportunity to further strengthen our commitment to responsible operations. Understanding and managing underwater noise becomes increasingly essential to protecting marine ecosystems.
Activities such as ship traffic, sonar use, and offshore construction can affect marine life over large distances. Offshore wind farm installation is one of these activities.
While industry players have already implemented mitigation measures, Searénité aims to go further, introducing advanced technologies tailored to the marine environment to minimize potential impacts even more.
The objective of the Searénité project is to adapt the SubSea Quieter, an innovative technology designed to reduce underwater noise, to the specific requirements of floating wind turbine deep anchoring and offshore electrical substations foundations.
Developed and patented by Sealence, SubSea Quieter uses flexible panels made from an air-inflatable membrane. These panels are deployed underwater around offshore foundations during their installation, acting as an acoustic shield to reduce underwater noise.
The result is effective noise reduction using a straightforward, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly solution suitable for deep-water installations. This marks a significant technological step toward sustainable coexistence between energy development and marine biodiversity conservation.
Year one will focus on specifying SubSea Quieter for floating wind turbine anchors, offshore substations, and wind turbines using jacket-type foundations. Activities include design work, acoustic modeling, and hydrodynamic behavior analysis under wave and current conditions. Pressurized tank tests will validate acoustic performance down to 300 m water depth.
Subsequent years will involve prototype production and testing in 2028 at the Port of Saint-Nazaire, followed by refinement and improvement. Subject to successful evaluations, a full-scale demonstration is also foreseen during the installation of an electrical offshore substation.
The Searénité project was awarded a grant of €7.1 million.
The French State funds this project as part of France 2030 operated by ADEME.
