Abstract
This document has been created to satisfy Condition 22 of the Section 36 Consent originally issued
by Marine Scotland Licensing Operations Team (MS-LOT, now MD-LOT) to Kincardine Offshore Wind
Ltd (KOWL) for the Kincardine Offshore Windfarm (the Project).
Condition 22 requires the production of a Project Environmental Monitoring Plan (PEMP). The overall
aim of the PEMP is to outline and define the approach KOWL, its survey contractors and advisors will
take with respect to the environmental monitoring of the Project required under the consent conditions.
The PEMP is designed to provide guidance to those involved in the Project, on the monitoring of
potential environmental impacts associated with the installation, post-construction and operational
phases of the wind farm.
This iteration of the PEMP (revision C10) has been adapted from that originally prepared for the initial
stages of the Project, in order to build upon learnings during the data collected during operation of the
2MW turbine and to refine the monitoring objectives and methodologies subsequent to the installation
and operation of five 9.5MW turbines at the site.
The document is structured into 8 main sections plus Appendices:
Section 1 Introduction: This section sets out the purpose, structure, scope of the document as
well as the approach to updating it, and compliance with consent conditions
Section 2 Project Overview: This section summarises the main features of the Kincardine
project, turbine locations, its principal and currently installed components, the project design life, and
an overview of the construction programme.
Section 3 Consent Conditions: This section describes the main consent conditions for the
Kincardine project, and highlights where each consent condition is addressed in the relevant sections
of this document.
Section 4 Birds Monitoring Plan: This section focuses on the monitoring plan for birds at the
site. It starts with a summary of meetings held to-date with stakeholders, and the key outcomes and
agreements from each of these meetings. The overarching approach to bird monitoring is summarised,
and the various objectives of the bird monitoring studies and methods to be employed at the site are
then discussed in turn. The reporting requirements are described, and this is followed by a summary
table of the main activities that have been carried out and are planned for bird monitoring at the site.
Section 5 Marine Mammals Monitoring Plan: This section focuses on the monitoring plan for
marine mammals at the site. It starts with a summary of meetings held to-date with stakeholders, and
the resultant key outcomes and agreements. The overarching approach to marine mammal monitoring
is summarised, and the various objectives of the marine mammal monitoring studies and methods to
be employed at the site are then discussed in turn, along with details of activities carried out to-date.
The reporting requirements are described, and this is followed by a summary of the activities that have
been carried out and are planned for monitoring the potential effects upon marine mammals at the
site.
Section 6 Diadromous Fish Monitoring Plan: This section focuses on the monitoring plan for
diadromous fish at the site. It starts with a summary of meetings held to-date with stakeholders, and
the key outcomes and agreements from each of these meetings. The overarching approach to
diadromous fish monitoring is summarised, and the various objectives of these monitoring studies and
methods to be employed at the site are discussed. The reporting requirements are described, and this
is followed by a summary of the main activities that are currently being carried out.
Section 7 Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) Clearance: This section describes the approaches that KOWL will undertake and references the guidance documents that KOWL will consult, should any UXO clearance activities be required at the site in the future.
Finally, Section 8 presents an overall summary of the key monitoring activities and recent reporting outputs at Kincardine as of March 2025.
Appendix A presents technical details and specifications of the DTBird video camera systems that are installed at the site to monitor bird collisions.
Appendix B contains details of key contractors and advisors.
Appendix C illustrates the field layout and locations of each WTG at the KOWL site.