With publication of the results of the six-year long environmental monitoring programme for the Horns Rev and Nysted offshore wind parks, Denmark has underpinned its leading position in the area of offshore wind farm building. The final results were published on 27-28 November at an international conference in Ellsinore.
With an installed power output of 160 MW and 165.6 MW respectively, the two demonstration projects at Horns Rev and Nysted dating from 2002-2003 are to date the largest offshore wind turbine projects in the world. To chart the effect of such large projects on the marine environment it was decided to implement a thorough basic survey prior to the installation works in 1999-2001 followed by six years of systematic monitoring and records – first during the engineering works themselves and then during the first years of running.
The total budget of the environmental monitoring programme was DKK 84 million, financed via electricity bills as a PSO activity. An international advisory panel of experts in marine ecology constantly monitored the programme. In its overall assessment, the panel stressed the open and transparent implementation of environmental monitoring, which will be of great importance to the future development of offshore wind farms. Besides the international panel, Danish environmental NGOs participated as green monitor groups. The project itself was coordinated by the Environment Group consisting of the Danish National Forest and Nature Agency, the Danish Energy Authority, Vattenfall and DONG Energy.
In addition to the many specific results, the international panel in particular points out the importance of the new methods developed during the programme, which have contributed to the accumulation of unique knowledge concerning the environmental impact of offshore wind farms. These involve the so-called T-POD system, which measures the supersonic activities of porpoises within the offshore wind farms and in the test areas, and TADS technology, which measures bird collisions.
The international panel also has great expectations that the next two offshore wind farms, which are expected to be commissioned in 2009 and 2010 respectively, may provide additional knowledge concerning some of the questions which still remain to be answered, among other things concerning the total impact of several offshore wind farms on local bird and mammal life.
The environmental monitoring programme was carried out between 2001 and 2006 and throws light on:
• The risk of significant adverse environmental impact
• The ecological vulnerability of the areas concerned
• The suitability of the areas relative to examining specific impact
• The relevance of environmental impact for decisions concerning the future development of offshore wind turbines in and outside the area
• The importance of various effects relative to environmental conditions and the financial framework of the monitoring programme.
Source: Danish Energy Authority
By journalist Steen Hartvig Jacobsen
