Abstract
The Dutch governmental offshore wind ecological programme (Wozep) was established to expand the knowledge base about how wind farms affect protected species so that it will be possible to arrive at the best possible estimate of the ecological impact during the preparations for new road maps (proposed areas for wind farms in the years to come). A cumulative effect assessment is therefore being made to determine whether the proposed wind farms (and those in place) will have a significant impact on the numbers of the protected birds, bats and marine mammals. The cumulative effect assessment is made with the KEC (Framework for Assessing Ecological and Cumulative Effects). The Wozep research results are used to improve these KEC calculations.
The primary focus of Wozep is on the protected species that are directly affected by the wind turbines. The concerns here are collisions of birds and bats with turbines, birds avoiding the wind farms, the effect of underwater noise on harbour porpoises and seals, and the possible effect of electromagnetic fields around the cables. Secondly, there is research looking at changes in the habitats of marine mammals and birds associated with the arrival of the wind farms. Changes in these habitats (amount of food available, resting place, settlement options for benthos) can also have an effect on the numbers and condition of the animals referred to here. And finally, since 2018, Wozep has also been using models to look at the possible impact of wind farms on physical processes (waves, currents, turbidity, etc.) in the North Sea. These physical processes constitute the basis of the North Sea ecosystem and they affect the food web and ultimately the vulnerable species.
The following are presentations from the Tussenstand Wozep 2018 Meeting.
1. Tussenstand Wozepbijeenkomst 2018 - Kees Borst; Inger van den Bosch; Aylin Erkman; Martine Graafland; Maarten de Jong; Suzanne Lubbe; Maarten Platteeuw; Ingeborg van Splunder; Marijke Warnas
2. Filling the gaps by modelling: how can offshore wind farms impact populations of seabirds and coastal birds? - Suzanne Lubbe, Maarten Platteeuw (Rijkswaterstaat, Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat)
3. Use of population models to assess the impact of additional mortality - Astrid Potiek, Mark Collier, Ruben Fijn, Hans Schekkerman, Floor Soudijn, Tobias van Kooten
4. Seabird habitat models to assess the population effects of displacement - Tobias van Kooten, Chun Chen, Ruben Fijn, Mardik Leopold, Floor Soudijn & Ingrid Tulp
5. Offshore Wind Farms (OWFs) and Seabirds: Preliminary assessment of the effect of habitat loss of the Sandwich Tern (population model) - F.H. Soudijn, T. van Kooten, Ruben Fijn, Astrid Potiek & Ingrid Tulp
6. Presence of guillemots in wind farms - Mardik Leopold
7. Tussenstandbijeenkomst Wozep 2018: Benthos - WOZEP
8. Benthic development in and around Princes Amalia Windpark: soft substrate benthic fauna - Lies Leewis PhD. & Edwin Verduin MSc., Eurofins
9. Marine mammals and underwater sound - Aylin Erkman, Inger van den Bosch
10. Harbor porpoise energetics & Harbor seal surface hearing (WOZEP) - Ron Kastelein, SEAMARCO
11. Frequency weighting of underwater sound: Working group Marine Mammals and Underwater Sound - Christ de Jong
12. Bats at sea! Bats at risk? Need for research - Marijke Warnas, Maarten Platteeuw (Rijkswaterstaat, Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat)
13. Bat migration at sea and along the North Sea-coast - Sander Lagerveld