J Environ Manage. 2025 Nov 1;395:127679. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.127679. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Offshore wind (OW) power has expanded rapidly, playing a vital role in climate change mitigation. As first-generation OW farms approach their end-of-life (EOL), sustainable EOL management becomes essential. The circular economy (CE) offers a promising solution, yet its adoption within the OW industry remains limited. This study investigates the factors influencing CE adoption and explores ways to address them, guided by the question: what factors are hindering the adoption of CE strategies to sustainably manage near EOL OW farms, and what are the pathways to overcome them? Based on 21 semi-structured interviews across seven OW industry segments, the study reveals that while various economic, environmental, institutional, regulatory, and market drivers support CE adoption, numerous similar barriers, including technological barriers, impede its implementation. It reports that some barriers are more central than others, and addressing these can help resolve others. It also notes thatvaguely defined drivers that outline what needs to happen, rather than suggesting specific actions, tend to be less effective, and they require enabling support to enhance their impact. Addressing barriers, on the other hand, clearly requires enabling support. Our study finds that three types of enabling measures are necessary to support inadequately defined drivers and overcome barriers: industry-specific, market-specific, and regulatory measures. It is noteworthy that although the development of such measures is aimed at tackling central barriers, they also address non-central barriers. Finally, we argue that the systemic application of these measures can accelerate CE adoption for near EOL OW farms. A notable contribution of this study is its comprehensive analysis of drivers and barriers and the development of enabling measures, which enhances existing literature and offers policy and practical recommendations for OW stakeholders aiming to enhance CE adoption.
PMID:41177041 | DOI:10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.127679