Article: Circular Wind Farms | Offshore Industry Issue 4 - 2021
November 11, 2021

Offshore wind farms are an important solution for generating renewable energy and in the upcoming years, their contribution to energy transition will increase considerably. However, when looking at offshore wind farms with a much wider view on sustainability, lots of steps need to be taken to make this source of renewable energy carbon neutral.

Circular wind farms could be a valuable solution here. The report ‘The Ideation Process Focused on Circular Strategies in the Wind Industry’, was recently published by ECHT, and Offshore Industry talks with this agency’s Owner and Managing Director Erwin Coolen.

Real contribution
ECHT was established three years ago by Erwin Coolen and Hans Timmers. The founders’ initials can also be found in the agency’s name. “Today,” Mr Coolen explains, “ECHT stands for Energy, Circularity, Human Capital, and Transition, as these are the topics we are dedicated to. I have always been involved in wind energy, among others at Vestas. Over the past few years, I became somewhat tired of the ample publications on energy transition that never actually led to any tangible results. We started ECHT with the goal to really contribute (editor: ECHT means ‘really’ in Dutch) to a more sustainable world. We are a young team of twenty enthusiasts working together with partners in various projects, all of us contributing to the acceleration towards renewable electrification.”