No bird collisions were detected during 19 months of monitoring at Vattenfall’s Aberdeen offshore wind farm.

A detailed new collaborative study between Vattenfall and Spoor, a company specialising in bird monitoring, has confirmed that seabirds are safely steering clear of offshore wind turbines at Vattenfall’s Aberdeen offshore wind farm.

Five flight paths were initially identified as potential collisions. However, after review, none were found to involve an actual collision. In most cases, the birds were well away from the turbine or displaying natural behaviours such as diving for food.

The monitoring suggests that wind farms are having smaller impact on seabirds than originally predicted, and this could help inform the construction of future offshore wind projects by giving developers and regulators greater confidence that turbines can operate with a lower impact on seabirds and make environmental assessments more accurate.

Dr Eva Julius-Philipp, director of environment and sustainability at Business Area Wind at Vattenfall, said: “The findings from Aberdeen Bay demonstrate that modern offshore wind farms can be operated with low risk to wildlife, especially when supported by robust, real-world monitoring.”

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