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thorium43 OP t1_iqnwzwf wrote

This is pretty cool. Offshore wind does good stuff for marine life, and now others are taking advantage of this by farming seaweed there.

Stockholm-headquartered renewable energy developer OX2 has signed letters of intent with Swedish edible seaweed companies Nordic SeaFarm and KOBB to explore the possibility of seaweed farming at one of OX2’s offshore wind farms.

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RedCascadian t1_iqof85n wrote

Anchor points for mussels, too. Damn I love shellfish.

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Aggravating-Bottle78 t1_iqoq882 wrote

And the great thing about seaweed and shellfish farming is that there are very few inputs required as compared with land agriculture (ie fertilizer, weed killer, etc) and it grows all year round.

Cbc featured a Newfoundland fisherman who went from fishing to growing seaweed and oysters and mussels. He has been really good at promoting the industry.

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RedCascadian t1_iqp0q3v wrote

It's also carbon negative if done right, and benefits sealife, even cleans up the water!

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Aggravating-Bottle78 t1_iqpb794 wrote

Yes, in fact they can just grow it and sink it, and it grows very fast. It can actually be a good animal feed that is cheap (if you can transport it) and reduces the cow burps.

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xXSpaceturdXx t1_iqpexs2 wrote

I read an article once about some red seaweed that they could feed cows that was cheap and it reduced cow farts by a large percentage. But I think it was one of those things that is good on paper but it didn’t really catch on.

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angeredtsuzuki t1_iqpshyo wrote

The cows "didn't like the taste" apparently. Easier to just...not eat beef.

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secrettruth2021 t1_iqppbu2 wrote

From a polluted sea...

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RedCascadian t1_iqr5c5e wrote

Yes. The whole sea is too polluted for shellfish to be safe to eat. That's why grocery stores sell so much and we all get sick after eating it.

/s

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DrGepetto t1_iqooome wrote

Regardless if they harvest it or not, adding seaweed to the site will help clean the water and create a more habitable environment for marine life in general that is being Disturbed during the installation of the offshore wind units.

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mezpen t1_iqptnnm wrote

That could be a good pitch for future offshore wind farms worldwide. Outside of one’s they want to install in already living seaweed grasslands.

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n3w4cc01_1nt t1_iqo19li wrote

why stop there.... they could make storm proof submersible waterworld societies with tilapia farms around them.

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bklynbraver t1_iqog0g2 wrote

Idk, I’ve been eating a lot of Swedish fish lately and often get a tummy ache from it

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n3w4cc01_1nt t1_iqooyfa wrote

hope it isnt from ikea because that stuff is really salty

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s1n0d3utscht3k t1_iqov4bl wrote

in addition to creating a food product, with an upgrade it can also reduce the City’s Pollution rating

I know this because I played Cities: Skylines 🏙

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skedeebs t1_iqo8rcr wrote

Please no tilapia. That is the Budweiser of fish.

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n3w4cc01_1nt t1_iqoabdu wrote

It is sustainable. was going to write it in all caps but they could be used to compost waste then their excrement could be used for hydroponics. it's also really healthy. think a bit beyond branding and more about the utilitarian aspect of them. how could you make a sustainable sealab? add things like spirulina algae oxygen generators that also make protein.

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EvenAH27 t1_iqo1h3u wrote

I love the idea of edible seaweed farms for sustainable reasons, but I have to just say the obligatory "fuck the swedes" as a little token of hate for them as a Norwegian person 😂 (it's a bit of a sibling love-hate relationship between us for those that aren't Scandinavian)

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notrevealingrealname t1_iqoyj8b wrote

They already get enough of that from the Danes and Finns, do the Norwegians really have to add to it?

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Tamazin_ t1_iqpsv1f wrote

Eh, they all like to talk smack talk about us, but we barely know they exist. ;)

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Bupuia t1_iqojh7w wrote

As a Swede and someone working in offshore wind and having done a study on exactly this topic, I can say that unfortunately unless prices for seaweed goes up (through demand) or cost of harvesting goes down (requires big boats) this is a no go :(

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youshouldvebeenthere t1_iqpwyzd wrote

In the Netherlands they are having pilot seaweed farms at the offshore wind farms and managed to harvest mechanically 2 weeks ago. So thats already a big plus in costs reduction.

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mawkishdave t1_iqpmlzd wrote

I was reading about a company that is making bio-degradable "plastic" out of seaweed and they are having a lot of issues finding places to farm and harvest seaweed. If they could work out a deal with these companies it would be amazing.

https://www.boldbusiness.com/bold-living/seaweed-new-biodegradable-plastic/

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estudianteesp t1_iqrbahw wrote

There are so many great things going on that we don't know about. Thanks for sharing. As we transition to non fossil fuel energy sources, we need to find a viable replacement for plastic anyway. Biodegradable "plastic" is a home run.

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Commie_EntSniper t1_iqp5au2 wrote

How much seaweed would a swedish seaweed store sell if a Swedish seaweed store sold Swedish seaweed? Hundergleeben hoontlefloot.

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NotObviouslyARobot t1_iqpc98x wrote

There is a nasty, transmittable food allergy called Alpha-Gal that can give you allergic reactions to some seaweed extracts like Carrageenan.

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Minister_for_Magic t1_iqpembm wrote

>transmittable food allergy

WUT

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NotObviouslyARobot t1_iqpglyl wrote

It's transmitted by tick bites. Makes you allergic to a lot of meats, but Carrageenan--a seaweed extract used as an emulsifier, and for other things, is chemically similar enough to the molecule that activates the trigger (I'm explaining it badly), that it can trigger a reaction.

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alexbeyman t1_iqpf954 wrote

Otec also creates pockets of warm water at the bottom where you can mount cages for farming lobster and crab

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FuturologyBot t1_iqo2aiq wrote

The following submission statement was provided by /u/thorium43:

This is pretty cool. Offshore wind does good stuff for marine life, and now others are taking advantage of this by farming seaweed there.

Stockholm-headquartered renewable energy developer OX2 has signed letters of intent with Swedish edible seaweed companies Nordic SeaFarm and KOBB to explore the possibility of seaweed farming at one of OX2’s offshore wind farms.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/xt4rx6/could_offshore_wind_sites_host_edible_seaweed/iqnwzwf/

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stupdusrnams t1_iqpf1l1 wrote

Don’t see why not. It’s all the same structure below the water line.

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Glittering_Cow945 t1_iqpwq1o wrote

but can we find enough people to eat the 'edible' seaweed? Outside Japan?

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thorium43 OP t1_iqx5k10 wrote

Cover it in ketchup and sugar and the americans will eat it.

The rest of the world is capable of understanding its beneficial nutritional profile

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Sypher90 t1_iqq3xwd wrote

A platform hosting a building housing vertical farms, to include levels of gradual ramps and farm animals on grassy paths, loosely fit around a wind farm that uses the rise and fall of waves against the fixed structure planted on the ocean floor. I have no ground work, designs, business models, points of contacts in the industry, or experience. My offer is 10% for $50,000 startup.

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LiquidVibes t1_iqrviur wrote

Let it sink to the bottom and act as huge carbon sinks. The best way to store carbon is under preassure

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Extreme_Nose_2171 t1_iqpdxov wrote

What about the destroyed pipeline poison going into the water? How will this effect the Baltic Sea?

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ComputerSong t1_iqpel7p wrote

People all over the world think a lot of things. Until someone makes a thing happen, it hasn’t happened.

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secrettruth2021 t1_iqppo95 wrote

You know when you starving everything under the sun looks edible, old Chinese saying. I guess after saving the world by eating fried worms with seaweed/ algae , taking a bike to your rented apartment that you share with another 2 ppl, yes this does sound like good news.

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AwesomeLowlander t1_iqqp1l8 wrote

Seaweed is a delicacy in many cuisines worldwide. I'm sorry you've never eaten anything but fast food

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[deleted] t1_iqoxf2e wrote

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Minister_for_Magic t1_iqpepmu wrote

The poles have to go all the way to the surface and can easily anchor the infrastructure higher up...

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[deleted] t1_iqphr3u wrote

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PixelofDoom t1_iqpv0qk wrote

You should probably notify the experts involved that their plan is doomed to fail, before they invest too much into it.

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Good-Advantage-9687 t1_iqopgc7 wrote

No this is not the future of food production. Precision fermentation bio-reactors are the way to go.

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