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 Update Wozep 2023 Meeting.
1. Wozep Tussenstandbijeenkomst - Wozep team (Kees Borst, Aylin Erkman, Martine Graafland, Niels Kinneging, Dagmar van Nieuwpoort, Maarten Platteeuw, Elske Rotshuizen, Marije Siemensma, Ingeborg van Splunder, Meik Verdonk, Jos de Visser, Edwin Verduin, Marije Wassink, Tika Fauzi, Dunya Hamkar, Ingrid de Jager, Annelies Rietman)
2. Ecosystem effects of future upscaling offshore wind - Luca van Duren, Firmijn Zijl, Stendert Laan, Tammo Zijlker, Leo Leummens, Thijs van
Kessel, Luka Jaksic, Erik Hendriks, Vincent van Zelst, Lauriane Vilmin, Lisa Schneider, Jaap van der Meer, Tony Minns and Peter Herman
3. Application of the results of the Wozep research on birds - Maarten Platteeuw, Jos de Visser
4. RWS-Wozep bird radar in Luchterduinen wind farm - Abel Gyimesi, Jacco Leemans, Elisa Bravo Rebolledo, Robert Middelveld, Jente Kraal, Daniel Beuker, Koen Kuiper, Rob van Bemmelen, Mark Collier
5. Marine mammals and underwater sound - Niels Kinneging, Aylin Erkman, Marije Siemensma
6. Effects of underwater sound from impact piling for wind farms on harbour porpoises - C.A.F. de Jong, F.P.A. Lam, A.M. von Benda-Beckmann, T.S. Oud (TNO); S.C.V. Geelhoed, T. Vallina, T. Wilkes (Wageningen Marine Research), J. Brinkkemper, R. Snoek (WaterProof BV)
7. Datamanagement Wozep - Rina Clemens, Jochem Boersma, Frank Klein-Schaarsberg, Hillianne de Jonge
8. Multi-Year program Wozep 2024-2030: Ambition, process and main research tracks - Dagmar van Nieuwpoort