Vattenfall will fund “unique” research into the behaviours of birds flying near its 11-turbine European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) in Aberdeen Bay, Scotland.

The Swedish group said the work – thought to be the largest-scale study of its type carried out during the breeding season – help the offshore wind sector make informed decision over its impact on bird population.

Vattenfall invited specialist ornithologists to apply for research funding to begin a two or three-year monitoring programme from spring 2019, under the EOWDC’s €3m ($3.4m) scientific programme.

Vattenfall UK country manager Danielle Lane said: “The industry, decision makers and ornithology specialists rightly take great care when assessing the impact of offshore wind turbines on bird populations. The more data we have, the more confident that decision making can be.

“That’s why we expect this research, combined with others, to boost understanding and improve collision prediction models.”

The interface between offshore wind and birds is a hot issue for the Scottish sector in particular. Bird charity RSPB Scotland, which fought a long but ultimately unsuccessful legal action against 2.3GW of projects – the EOWDC not among them – backed the Vattenfall work.

Aly McCluskie, senior conservation scientist with the bird charity, said: “There is currently considerable uncertainty in our understanding of how birds behave in the vicinity of wind turbines, and we need to greatly improve this understanding in order to be able to accurately predict and prevent adverse impacts on bird populations. 

“The UK is currently undergoing an unprecedented expansion in offshore wind farm development and while we welcome the urgent transition to renewable energy to tackle climate change, it is crucial that this should not be at the expense of our wildlife.”

One of Vattenfall's other wind farms, the 300MW Thanet off southern England, played host to a previous study led by the UK Carbon Trust, which earlier this year reported the risk of bird collision was half the level previously expected.

The 93.2MW EOWDC came online this year as a demonstrator for some of the offshore wind sector’s most advanced technology. The project includes two 8.8MW MHI Vestas V164 turbines, currently the most powerful on the planet, and a clutch of other innovative systems.

Wind

Vattenfall to back bird behaviour study at EOWDC