# Greenpeace boulders may delay North Sea windfarms

> Activists dumped 15 tonnes of rocks on the site of a £12bn offshore windfarm project to protect harbour porpoises from fishing.
- Title: Greenpeace boulders may delay North Sea windfarms | Shortify
- Summary: Activists dumped 15 tonnes of rocks on the site of a £12bn offshore windfarm project to protect harbour porpoises from fishing.
- Keywords: greenpeace, norfolk vanguard, offshore wind, north sea, bottom trawling, rwe, andy burnham, marine conservation, the Guardian
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/environment/2026/nov/14/greenpeace-boulders-norfolk-vanguard-windfarms
- Published: 2026-11-14T11:00:43+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: greenpeace, norfolk vanguard, offshore wind, north sea, bottom trawling, rwe, andy burnham, marine conservation, news, world
## Greenpeace drops boulder barrier
Greenpeace activists dumped about fifteen tonnes of boulders weighing up to two tonnes each onto the North Sea seabed off the Norfolk coast to prevent bottom trawling and protect harbour porpoises.
## Boulders land on windfarm site
Most of the boulders were dropped on the site earmarked for the Norfolk Vanguard project, one of the UK's biggest planned offshore windfarms backed by Andy Burnham.
## Timing coincides with major announcement
Greenpeace began dumping boulders days before the prime minister announced at Cop31 that the UK would invest one billion pounds of public money in the Vanguard West and Vanguard East windfarms.
## Celebrity signatures on the rocks
Some boulders bear signatures of celebrities including Simon Pegg and Benedict Cumberbatch, who have voiced marine conservation documentaries and agreed to support the Greenpeace campaign.
## RWE investigates impact on project
German utility company RWE, the offshore wind developer, is in talks with Greenpeace to verify the exact placement of the boulders and investigate any potential impact to construction or undersea cables.
## Greenpeace says removal is routine
Will McCallum, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said the suggestion that boulders would cause a genuine obstacle was absurd, noting energy companies routinely move naturally occurring boulders from the seabed.

> Anyone familiar with offshore wind in the North Sea knows that energy companies routinely move naturally occurring boulders from the seabed before building windfarms.
## Key takeaway

Greenpeace dropped boulders on the Norfolk Vanguard windfarm site to block bottom trawling, but the rocks may complicate construction of the UK's biggest planned offshore windfarm.