Beyond Recycling: Circular Strategies for Offshore Renewable Decommissioning

About the Project

Renewable Energy is one of the fastest growing sectors addressing the most important challenges of our age. Offshore renewables, energy distribution, and the environmental impacts of constructing and decommissioning the infrastructure are some one of the most pressing research themes faced by the UK and beyond. The Net Zero Maritime Energy Solutions Centre (N0MES) for Doctoral Training is creating the future specialist workforce needed by our industrial partners through PhD projects finding solutions to real-life industrial needs.

The successful PhD student will be co-supervised and work alongside our external partner, Frazer Nash Consultancy.

As offshore wind farms grow to help the UK and the world hit Net Zero targets, another challenge is starting to surface: what happens when these huge structures reach the end of their life? Currently, the rules say we have to remove them completely. But is that always the smartest or most sustainable option? Could keeping certain parts in place, reusing materials, or redesigning systems make decommissioning safer, cheaper, and better for the planet?

This PhD project will examine those questions by exploring different ways to handle the decommissioning of offshore renewable infrastructure. It will look at the engineering, regulations, and sustainability issues involved, all through the lens of the Circular Economy — an approach that tries to minimise waste by keeping materials and assets in use for as long as possible.

You will explore topics like:

• Comparing full removal vs. partial removal strategies and what each means for safety, cost and the environment.
• Checking how ready current technologies are for large-scale decommissioning.
• Applying circular principles to asset management —how we design, run, upgrade, and retire offshore equipment.
• Learning from other industries such as rail, aerospace, and oil and gas to see what ideas could transfer to offshore wind.
• Understanding how regulation might change to allow seabeds to be re-used in the future.

The project goes further than traditional recycling. It questions the usual “use it and bin it” model by exploring how offshore systems could be designed to last longer, be more upgradeable, and adapt over time. By analysing the real condition of existing assets, the research will help define when equipment should be upgraded or finally retired.

Ultimately, this work will help shape policy, guide future regulations, and support better technology development, ensuring that the way we decommission offshore renewable infrastructure supports the UK’s long-term environmental and economic goals.