Abstract
Renewable energy is an increasing demand, and governments of North Sea countries are looking at developing offshore wind farms to help meet sustainability demands. The first at-sea wind farms have become operational in several countries, or are under construction, but many more are on the drawing board. Altogether, around 100 offshore wind farms are scheduled to be operational by 2023 in the southern North Sea (51-56°N) alone. There may be two sides to this development in environmental terms: on the one hand this will help reduce CO2 emissions, on the other hand protected North Sea biota may be negatively impacted. This report considers the cumulative impact of all projected wind farms in the southern North Sea (by 2023) on birds and bats.
Click here for a note on the original report: Iteration cycle: Dealing with peaks in counts of birds following active fishing vessels when assessing cumulative effects of offshore wind farms and other human activities in the Southern North Sea
Click here for another note: 2nd Iteration: Effect of turbine capacity on collision numbers for three large gull species, based on revised density data, when assessing cumulative effects of offshore wind farms on birds in the southern North Sea