Observers Monitor Birds at Walney Offshore Windfarms (UK)

As part of the environmental monitoring programme for Walney Offshore Windfarms, the wind farm area, including a 4km buffer zone, has been surveyed for birds during May.

The survey was conducted from a vessel, sailing a number of transect through the area. Bird observations were done by two observers, covering the sea on each side of the vessel.

All birds and marine mammals observed were recorded by species, location and behaviour (including flight height if in flight). The observations will be entered into the data base of bird observation conducted before, during and after construction of the wind farms. This will provide a valuable understanding of any potential impact of offshore wind farms on birds in the East Irish Sea.

The Walney Offshore Windfarm

The Walney Offshore Windfarm project is located approximately 15km west of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. The project consists of Walney 1 and Walney 2 each with 51 – 3.6MW turbines, giving a total capacity of the Walney project of 367.2MW. The rotor diameter of the turbines is 107m for Walney 1 and 120m for Walney 2, with a maximum height of 150m from blade tip to sea level. The total area of the development is some 73km2.

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Source: dongenergy, June 21, 2011