Lighting

The extent of artificial lighting on novel structures in the marine environment is typically determined by regulatory standards focused on the navigational safety of vessels and aircrafts. However, lighting may unintentionally attract marine organisms towards wind energy and marine renewable energy devices and increase the likelihood of collision or other adverse effects. For example, passing birds may focus their vision on the lights of an land-based wind or offshore wind turbine rather than the moving blades. Collision risk may be heightened for bats as well due to the attraction of insects near device lighting. Lighting on marine infrastructure may also attract fish towards the base of these devices. Research is currently being conducted on the effect of different lighting configurations, colors, and flashing frequencies.