DUTCH FIND OFFSHORE WIND GOOD FOR SEA LIFE

Offshore wind projects "aid marine life"
Paul Garrett, 11 August 2011 (Windpower Monthly)

"A two-year study at Dutch offshore wind farm Egmond aan Zee has revealed that marine life can benefit from the presence of offshore wind turbines.

…[Short-term ecological effects of an offshore wind farm in the Dutch coastal zone] looked at the effect on fisheries at the site where 36 Vestas turbines were built in 2006 between 10km and 18km off the Dutch coast."

click to enlarge

"It was the first offshore wind farm to be built in the North Sea waters of the Netherlands. The area had previously been heavily fished…An increase in sole, whiting and striped red mullet was recorded as the fish found shelter inside the wind farm, while mussel larvae attached themselves to the monopile foundations of the turbines.

"…[O]ver the two year investigation period more porpoise clicks were recorded inside the wind farm than outside…However, the report suggested that some bird species might also be deterred by the presence of an offshore wind farm."