Noise from pile driving during offshore wind turbine construction could be damaging the hearing of harbour seals around the UK, according to ecologists who attached GPS data loggers to 24 harbor seals while offshore wind turbines were being installed in 2012. Data on the seals’ locations and their d
As fishermen in East Yorkshire are preparing to go back fishing at Westermost Rough after a two-year ban due to the offshore wind farm construction, they are worried about the quantity of lobster they will find within the area. The area alone used to provide 15% of the annual lobster catch in the UK
Some residents have experienced disturbance from the piling work currently undertaken 7km offshore Herne Bay and Whitstable in Kent. The Swedish energy giant, Vattenfall, is currently installing foundations at the 49.5MW Kentish Flats Extension offshore wind farm comprising 15 turbines. Adam Ezzamel
The Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for Vesterhav Syd and Vesterhav Nord are now published, and will be out for public consultation until 30 June, 2015. Energinet.dk is preparing EIAs for all the six nearshore wind farm sites. Up until now EIAs for Bornholm, Vesterhav Syd and Vesterhav Nord
Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm has submitted an application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) for the Triton Knoll Electrical System on 24 April 2015. “The application and associated documents will be reviewed by the Planning Inspectorate and we await confirmation that our application has been
Finnish wave energy developer Wello Oy is extending its testing programme at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney having signed a one year extension to their original contract. Their 1MW Penguin wave energy converter has been undergoing testing in Orkney since June 2011, and was first
HiDef Aerial Surveying Limited (HiDef) has extended an agreement with Centrica Energy for the delivery of high-resolution digital video aerial survey services for Lincs Wind Farm. HiDef has already delivered ornithological and marine mammal survey services to Centrica across its portfolio of offshor
New research by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has used GPS tags to show how Lesser Black-backed Gulls breeding at a protected site in Suffolk use areas of sea where offshore wind farms already exist, and where future developments are earmarked. Dr Chris Thaxter of the BTO said, “These resu
Immediately following Seawork International 2015 in Southampton, The Hydrographic Society UK is to stage a one-day seminar and table-top exhibition on Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) Surveys, at Southampton Solent University Conference Centre on Friday 19 June. Focussing on near and offshore marine enviro
Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) is holding a meeting next Thursday where they will discuss a proposed safety zone around the cables installed in the Minas Passage. As a follow up to the December meeting, the tidal energy test centre has completed mapping the seabed location of the rec
GeoSea has contracted Baker Consultants Marine to provide underwater noise and marine mammal monitoring and mitigation during the construction phase of the Gode Wind 1 and 2 offshore wind farms. GeoSea will undertake the foundation installation work for this DONG Energy project, which will see 97 Si
HiDef Aerial Surveying has signed an exclusive deal with BioConsult SH GmbH & Co. KG of Germany to operate HiDef’s technology and infrastructure within Denmark and its territorial waters. The five year contract allows BioConsult SH to provide digital video surveys to German wind farm developers, gov
ABS has granted approval in principle (AIP) to Maryland-based OTEC International LLC (OTI) for its 5–7 megawatt ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) Floating Power Plant (FPP). The FPP is designed to generate consistent electrical power for a commercial utility grid in the world’s tropical and sub
Bewick’s swans currently inhabiting the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) centre at Welney, UK, are being equipped with a special GPS system that will help determine whether offshore wind farms have a significant effect on them. The swans are preparing to fly away to Arctic Russia and researchers wa
