ECOWind is bringing together experts from science, policy and industry to understand how offshore wind affects ecosystems, and the species and habitats that make them, in order to reduce negative impacts on marine life while tackling climate change.  From seven shortlisted projects, three have now been selected for funding. The projects will explore the effects of offshore wind on different aspects of the marine environment, covering elements of the ecosystem such as fish, marine mammals, seabirds, and life on the seabed.

The ECOWind Programme has funding of around £7.5 million, provided by The Crown Estate’s Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme (OWEC) and by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). It is supported by Defra.

One of these projects will be led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and will investigate the impacts of wind farms on seabirds, and produce solutions to protect and increase populations. The project will receive total funding worth around £2 million over four years.

The new UKCEH-led project, called ECOWINGS (Ecosystem Change, Offshore Wind, Net Gain and Seabirds), will provide evidence about the predicted cumulative impacts of all planned offshore wind developments on key seabird species in the North Sea, such as kittiwakes, guillemots, razorbills and puffins. Researchers will investigate what causes seabirds to change their behaviour when offshore windfarms are built; for example, if they avoid windfarms due to aversion of the turbines themselves, because their prey species have moved elsewhere, or both.

They will also establish how to compensate for any negative impacts and ensure there are net increases in seabird populations despite the effect of wind farms and climate change. Possible measures could include fisheries management and nest creation. The project findings will inform marine and wind power policies.

There are two other ECOwind projects that have also been funded. PELAgIO will support the development of evidence-based policy and marine management through interdisciplinary research that explores the consequences of offshore wind development on marine environments, marine wildlife, and wider ecosystem structures. By observing and modelling over a large range of physical and biological scales, using a combination of autonomous platforms and ocean robots, research vessels and satellite observations, PELAgIO will build an ecosystem-level understanding of projected changes.

The ECOwindACCELERATE project, led by Bangor University will assess impacts of offshore wind on the seabed and any knock-on effects.  It will propose measures to monitor and mitigate against negative impacts. When natural currents in the sea deviate around wind turbine foundations or anchors, the forces on the seabed enhance, disturbing sediments. This can change the shape and sediment composition of the seabed, alter the location of fish preyed on by seabirds and reduce the clarity of the water, potentially affecting areas far beyond the windfarms themselves.

Further information on the CEH led ECOWINGS project can be found here. For details of the ECOwind programme see the website here.