Offshore wind energy is crucial for Europe’s energy transition, yet its large-scale buildout in the Baltic and North Seas poses risks to biodiversity. Based on a qualitative study of Ørsted, a Danish renewable energy company, I examine how Ørsted’s pursuit of biodiversity-net-positive offshore wind farms creates tensions with governmental and ecosystem-level biodiversity targets. I show how the offshore wind farm becomes a ‘focal scale’ for negotiating these tensions. Iterative planning processes and new forms of collaboration among government authorities, developers, and environmental consultants may enable more consistent consideration of biodiversity across scales.
Jonathan Feddersen is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Organization and the Centre for Organization and Time at Copenhagen Business School (Denmark). His research examines how temporal, spatial, and material dimensions shape organizing, with a focus on the collaborative development of sustainable solutions. Empirically, his current research focuses on reconciling offshore wind energy with marine biodiversity. He has published in Organization Studies, Academy of Management Perspectives, and Project Management Journal.
Moderation: Dr. Alica Repenning