Partnering with WREN, questionnaires are sent to offshore wind energy developers around the world who are involved in environmental monitoring. This page provides contextual project information and highlights environmental monitoring, providing links to available data and reports. Content is updated annually.

Hywind Scotland Pilot Park

Description

Hywind Scotland Pilot Park is the world’s first floating offshore wind farm and is the first project to connect multiple floating turbines in an array. The project uses Spar Buoys with a simple three-line mooring system that is suitable for harsh conditions. The project is located 25 km off the coast of Peterhead, Scotland, and is composed of 5 6 MW turbines for an installed capacity of 30 MW, covering an area of 4 sq. km. For more information on the Hywind project, check out this YouTube video from Equinor!

Location

Hywind Scotland is located 25 km east of Peterhead, Scotland (UK) at the Buchan Deep, in the North Sea. The nearest port is the Port of Peterhead. The cable landfall point is also on the coast of Peterhead. Each of the five turbines is installed 1386 m apart making the farm cover 4 sq. km.

Licensing Information

  • December 3, 2020: Marine Scotland, Environmental Management Plan Approved
  • March 30, 2017: Marine Scotland, Project Environmental Monitoring Program Approved
  • July 25, 2016: Marine Scotland, European Protected Species Geophysical Survey Consent
  • October 30, 2015: Marine Scotland, Marine License
  • October 27, 2015: Marine Scotland, Environmental Impact Assessment Approved

Project Timeline

  • October 18, 2017: Official opening
  • October 2017: Operation start
  • September 8, 2017: First power
  • August 2017: all 5 turbines are placed
  • July 2017: first turbine towed to Scotland
  • September 2016: Construction starts
  • September 27, 2013: Hywind Scotland Limited was incorporated

Key Environmental Issues

Equinor considered several potential impacts on the intertidal area and seabed including loss and disturbance of habitats, introduction of non-native species, and protection of benthic habitats due to reduced fishing trawling.

Metadata Documents

Environmental Papers and Reports

For additional Hywind Scottland documents, visit the Marine Scotland website.

Equinor is making operational data Hywind Scotland available to access on a free-to-use basis for supply chain businesses and academia through the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s Platform for Operational Data (POD) service (Equinor 2019).

Environmental Monitoring: Hywind Scotland Pilot Park

Phase Stressor & Receptor Design and Methods Results Publications Data
Baseline Physical Environment Desk-based literary review 
In July 2013 a review of existing information about the proposed area’s benthic and intertidal ecology  was performed. This review also looked at surveys done in similar water depths in the North Sea. 		Complete
Previous surveys of the proposed area and its surrounding showed that the species Ophelia borealis, Exogone hebes, Spiophanes bombyx, and Polycirrus sp. are present in the area 		Xodus Group 2013 No data publicly available.
Baseline Physical Environment Benthic Survey 
In August and September 2013, a benthic survey was conducted alongside the geophysical survey to characterize and map the benthic environment. Side-scan sonar and bathymetry data was interpreted on-board the vessel to identify ground truth sampling stations for taking high-resolution video, stills imagery, and benthic grabs as part of a stratified random sampling design.   		Complete 
The benthic and intertidal environment in the Exclusivity Area was suitably characterized. It was found that there was a medium risk of seabed disturbance or loss of habitat and that those effects would be temporary the survey also noted positive effects from the colonization of infrastructure in the water column and on the seabed and Protection of benthic habitats within the Pilot Park due to restricted trawling in the Pilot Park. 		Xodus Group 2013 No data publicly available.
Baseline Reptiles Desk-based data review 
A high-level review of historical data on Sea Turtle distribution was conducted.   		Complete 
Five species of marine turtle have been recorded in UK and Irish waters: leatherback turtle, loggerhead turtle, Kemp’s ridley turtle, hawksbill turtle, and the green turtle. The only species that is reported annually is the leatherback turtle. In 2011 51 were sighted with none being in the Area. 		Xodus Group 2013 No data publicly available.
Baseline Birds, Marine Mammals Boat Based Survey
Surveys were conducted by a team of two accredited surveyors on a vessel, collecting data on birds and marine mammals within a 300 m survey corridor. Two survey days per month were scheduled from June 2013 to May 2014, totaling 20 surveys. An additional eight surveys were carried out between July and September 2014 using the same methods. 		Complete
A total of 13 seabird species were regularly recorded and the results for each of these are considered in detail. Nine other species of seabird and several migrant non-seabird bird species were recorded in very small numbers occasionally. Five species of marine mammal were recorded during the surveys; these were the harbour porpoise, white-beaked dolphin, minke whale, grey seal, and harbour seal. 		Xodus Group and Natural Research Ltd 2015 No data publicly available.
Baseline Physical Environment Intertidal Phase 1 biotope mapping Survey
The survey was performed in August 2013 during a period of spring low tides. The surveyors walked along the shore to identify, differentiate and map the extent of biotopes. The survey was undertaken during a window of four hours. The mosaic of biotope data collected in the field was transferred onto a Geographical Information System (GIS) and colour-coded in accordance with the standard colour scheme described in the survey manual. 		Complete
The intertidal survey identified 16 main biotopes and four subsidiary biotopes including biotopes dominated by lichens, fucoid, barnacles, kelp, calcareous red algae in rock pools and ephemeral green algae. The distribution of biotopes across the site relates to a range of physical factors including substrate type, degree of exposure to wave action, height on the shore and modifiers such as salinity and sand scour. The spatial extent of the intertidal zone and topography varied throughout the survey area, creating a mosaic of biotopes. Biotopes were broadly similar across the site, although local conditions e.g., sand, and freshwater influence, and geology, resulted in differences in the zonation patterns on the shore and therefore the presence and extent of biotopes. Rockpool biotopes were present throughout the site and were also present in discrete mappable areas in places. 		Xodus Group 2013 No data publicly available.
Baseline Physical Environment Environmental Survey
The environmental survey started in August 2013 and was completed inSeptember of that same year. The environmental survey was performed using grab sampling, a drop-down video and still camera system. Sample sites were selected using the information provided from the geophysical survey data and in accordance with the requirements of the client. Sites were documented by visual methods, video/still photography and by grab sampling. Where grab sampling was obstructed by hard seabed or coarse substrates only video/still photo was used for sampling. 		Complete
Three stony reefs are located along the Export Cable Route. One of them extends across the Export Cable Route and is adjacent to the bedrock reef at landfall area. Within the Turbine Site Area, Sabellaria spinulosa findings varied and were scattered over this surveyed area. No burrowed mud was encountered in the Export Cable Route, or in the Turbine Site Area which is consistent with the results from the video and image sampling. No habitat listed among the PMF’s was detected during this survey. 		MMT Sweden 2013 No data publicly available.
Baseline Birds Desk-based data review
A high-level review of historical data on bird distribution from European Seabirds at Sea (ESAS) Database and National Seabird Census (Seabird 2000) was performed for the proposed wind farm area. 		Complete
Recorded species include common guillemot, northern fulmar, razorbill, Atlantic puffin, northern gannet, and several gull species including herring gull, black-legged kittiwake Rissa, and great black-backed gull. During the breeding season, records indicate that the most abundant species was the common guillemot, with black-legged kittiwake, northern fulmar, herring gull, razorbill, Atlantic puffin, and northern gannet also commonly present. Northern fulmar was recorded as being the most abundant species during the non-breeding season. 		Xodus Group 2013

European Seabirds at Sea (ESAS)

Seabird colony data
Baseline Birds Boat-based seabird surveys 
Boat-based surveys were completed in June, July, August, and September 2013. Each survey involved collecting data on the number of birds on the sea surface and in flight.  		Complete
Surveys indicated favorable seabird distribution and abundance with minimal disturbance from vessels, moderate collision risks, and low pollution-induced population loss anticipated. Projected impacts on seabird populations are expected to be insignificant across all species due to the project's small anticipated footprint and existing seabird density data. 		Xodus Group 2013 No data publicly available.
Baseline Fish Desk-based data review 
A high-level review of historical data on fish and shellfish distribution and breeding grounds was conducted. 		Complete 
A high-level review of historical data on fish and shellfish distribution and breeding grounds was conducted. 		Xodus Group 2013

Cod - spawning grounds (Coull et al 1998)  

Spawning and nursery grounds of selected fish species in UK waters
Baseline Marine Mammals Desk-based data review
A high-level review of historical data on marine mammal distribution was conducted, which focused on grey and harbour seals and cetaceans in north-west European waters. 		Complete
The results indicate that the white-beaked dolphin, harbor porpoise, and minke whale are the species most observed within Hywind Scotland Pilot Park Project Area. The Atlantic white-sided dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, fin whale, humpback whale, killer whale, and Risso’s dolphin have been encountered in the surrounding waters. Other cetacean species sighted were the pygmy sperm whale, common dolphin, long-finned pilot whale, and some beaked whale species.
Two species of seals live and breed in UK waters, the grey seal and harbor seal. Other species of pinnipeds were intermittently sighted in UK waters, including the Arctic species, ringed seal, harp seal, bearded seal, and hooded seal.
Xodus Group 2013 No data publicly available.
Operations Attraction, Habitat Change

Fish, Invertebrates 		Glider Study on the potential reef-effect of a floating wind park
For a 4-week period, a downward looking echosounder was installed on a Sailbouy autonomous sailboat along with a GPS and satellite connection for location and data/commands transfer, temperature, salinity, oxygen, and frequency fluorescence sensors for oceanographic and biological parameters. The Sailbuoy was deployed on June 8th, 2021, reached the farm on June 25th, left the wind farm on July 23rd, and was recovered on August 15th. 		Complete
The results showed  an increase in phytoplankton and zooplankton. With the increase in zooplankton came an increase in fish but only during natural blooms. The overall fish biomass didn’t increase over time. 		Ramasco 2022 No data publicly available.
Operations Noise

Sound Source Characterization Study
Four- hydrophone tetrahedral arrays were deployed for three winter months (October 2020 to January 2021). 		Complete
The total noise levels (tonal and transient) from turbine 1 (HS1) were analyzed at five wind speeds between 5 and 25 kn. Surprisingly, the noise level was higher at 5 kn than at 10 kn. The median broadband source levels ranged from 162.5 to 167.2 dB re 1 µPa²m², with a maximum 95th percentile of 172 dB re 1 µPa²m² at 25 kn. These levels were used to model the noise footprint for the five-turbine windfarm. The model showed that the noise level dropped to the background SPL (110 dB re 1 µPa) at approximately 4 km from the center of the windfarm in 10 kn of wind, and at 13 km in 25 kn of wind. A high-frequency cetacean (porpoise) would need to stay within 50 m of a turbine for 24 hours in 15 kn of wind to risk a temporary hearing threshold shift. 		Burns et al. 2022 No data publicly available.
Operations Displacement

Birds 		Overwintering distributions of common guillemot and razorbill populations
As part of the Hywind Scotland’s ornithological monitoring, data on year-round distribution and movements of guillemots and razorbills at three majors colonies along the east coast of Scotland (East Caithness SPA, Buchan Ness to Collieston Coast SPA and Isle of May National Nature Reserve) were collected over two years 2017-18 and 2018-19. 		Complete
The three populations of guillemots and razorbills had a similar overall non-breeding distribution, with extensive use of the central and southern North Sea and areas around the breeding colonies, and this was broadly consistent between years. However, in both species there were important differences among colonies in the location of hotspots during the non-breeding period. The data provide important insights into the year-round space use of these two key species at three major colonies on the east coast of Scotland and their potential interaction with offshore renewable developments. 		Bogdanova et al. 2021 No data publicly available.
Operations Habitat Change

Physical Environment 		Artificial Substrate Colonisation Survey
The 6th of June 2020 to 15th of June 2020 survey was performed using a Work Class Remotely Operated Vehicle (WROV) with a mounted.
High Definition (HD) video camera. A total of 41 structures, as well as their associated subcomponents, were inspected during the survey,
including Turbines (Substructures), Mooring Lines, Suction Anchors, and Infield Cables. Data from
several of the subcomponents have been pooled to facilitate comparison. 		Complete
All five turbines showed a distinct zonation trend, with Metridium senile and Spirobranchus dominating the bottom to mid-sections, while kelp and other Phaeophyceae along with blue mussel (Mytilus) dominated the top sections. The fauna on the mooring lines varied with depth. Sabellaria spinulosa and Ectopleura larynx dominated the chains near the seabed, Spirobranchus dominated the middle parts, and the upper parts were dominated by Balanoidea, M. senile, and E. larynx. The suction anchors were dominated by hydroids and Spirobranchus. The infield cables, mainly buried, had exposed sections dominated by acorn barnacles (Balanoidea). No confirmed non-native taxa were noted. Several lobsters (Homarus spp.) were identified, potentially H. gammarus or the invasive H. americanus. Four mobile taxa on the Scottish Biodiversity List and as Priority Marine Features were identified near the structures: Cod (Gadus morhua), Ling (Molva), sand eel (Ammodytes spp.), and Whiting (Merlangius merlangus). 		MMT Sweden 2020 No data publicly available.
Operations Entanglement, Habitat Change

Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries 		SeaShare
Fishing trials were performed in the Hywind Scotland site from July to November 2022. Equinor identified three ‘fishing trial areas’ within the wind farm, based on a minimum distance of 200 m to the wind turbines and the dynamic sections of the export/inter-array cables, and 50 m minimum distance to the remaining subsea infrastructure. A control area was designated outside the wind farm area. These four areas were fished in rotation using all gear types in each rotation within each area. Learn more about the SeaShare project in this Equinor video! 		Complete
All gear was successfully operated within the designated ‘fishing trial areas’ in the Hywind floating offshore wind farm and there were no safety issues, gear snagging or fishing gear lost. The fishing trial areas allowed adequate space to operate the vessel and static fishing gear and were deemed to be safe distances away from the turbines for the vessel and fishing gear in this trial. 		Wright et al. 2023

Learn more about the SeaShare project in this Equinor video! 
Operations Habitat Change

Ecosystem Processes 		eDNA 
This study employed molecular metabarcoding of the 18S V1-V2 rDNA and COI markers on benthic sediment eDNA samples to: (i) measure the community composition of eukaryotic 18S V1-V2 and metazoan COI benthic communities extracted from sediment samples collected at Hywind Scotland; (ii) evaluate the effectiveness of the chosen eDNA sampling design, sample type, replicate number, and molecular markers in detecting anthropogenic impacts; and (iii) compare metabarcoding results with morphological taxonomy of 1 mm sieved macrofauna from the same sampling stations. 		Complete  
This study served as a proof of concept. The Hywind site does not exhibit detectable environmental impacts in the community composition data presented in this report, either through morphological or metabarcoding analyses. 		Hestetun and Dahlgren 2023 No data publicly available.
Operations Habitat Change

Fish 		eDNA Fish Monitoring
A sampling cruise was conducted on board the MCS Swath 1 on 10 August 2021. A 10 x 8 ft (3.05 x 2.44 m) metal container with wall-mounted table, electricity and ceiling lighting was lifted onto deck and rigged as a makeshift onboard “laboratory” for filtering of water samples immediately after collection. To identify if any stratification was present in the water column, CTD profiles was taken at all sampling sites in both the impact and reference areas. No significant stratification was observed, so it was decided to collect water samples at both 10 m and 50 m depth at all ten sampling stations as planned. 		Complete
MiFish results comprised the detection of 39 fish species.  		Ray et al. 2022 No data publicly available.
Operations Habitat Change

Invertebrates, Physical Environment 		Environmental benthos survey
The survey was conducted from the vessel “Olympic Electra” in the period 11-12 of May 2022. Three main activities were executed in the survey:
1. Sediment characterization
2. Biological analysis of macrofauna
3. Visual assessment of megafauna and potential influence from the wind park on the seabed.
Results were then compared to a pre-construction 2013 study.
Complete
 Sediment characterization was found to be similar the previous study with the sediment generally being fine sand. For the biological analyses all test stations were found to be our species rich, and the diversity is high. The general trend from 2013 to 2022 is that stations sampled in 2022 have the same amount or more species and individuals than 2013-stations. The Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index (H’) also shows that the diversity is the same as in 2013 or higher for all 2022-stations. Visual areas closet to turbines were found to have a slightly increased amount of organic matter and shell debris originating from the floating structure and chains.
Moskeland 2023 No data publicly available.
Operations Attraction, Habitat Change

Fish, Invertebrates 		Artificial Hard-substrate Colonization Study
Video footage was captured using a high-definition color camera mounted on a work class remotely operated vehicle (WROV) with LED floodlights and spotlights. Footage was recorded throughout the structural inspection of turbine substructures, mooring lines, suction anchors, and infield cables. Additional footage specifically for environmental survey purposes was collected for turbine substructures HS01, HS02, and HS04, and infield cables HS04 to HS05 (QA01), HS01 to HS04 (QA02), HS02 to HS03 (QA04), HS03 to HS05 (QA05), and the protective concrete mattress over the QA01 cable. 		 Complete  
The analyses of data from the Hywind Scotland Pilot Park yielded a general increase in the coverage of the epifouling growth between 2018 and 2020, whereas the change in thickness between years was more variable. 		Karlsson et al. 2022 No data publicly available.
Decommissioning Habitat Change

Physical Environment 		Debris Removal Survey 
Upon completion of decommissioning, a survey will be undertaken to ensure that all debris related to the development of the offshore wind farm has been removed, where required. Survey area is yet to be decided on but will be a radius of between 110 m and 500 m surrounding the installation. 		Planned 
Results Pending 		Equinor 2022, Statoil 2007 No data publicly available.