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Like onshore wind, public attitude surveys show strong support for wind energy. However, support in general is even stronger for offshore wind as concerns over issues like visual impact are less prevalent.
Wind turbines near to shore can have a visual impact, although opinion on the impact is usually divided. The further offshore a wind farm is located, the less effect it will have when viewed from the shore.
The British Wind Energy Association’s (BWEA) best practice guidelines are currently being revised to include offshore considerations. Among these will be the recommendation that all offshore projects should be sited at least 5 kilometres offshore. In the Greater Wash, the Thames Estuary and the North West – the three areas where large offshore wind farms are currently planned in Round 2 – an inshore zone of 8 kilometres from the shore has been excluded from any potential developments. The exclusion zone has been extended to 13 kilometres in places of particular environmental sensitivity. This exclusion zone was set for Round 2. It will be reviewed at the time of any subsequent round.
See Onshore wind energy in your community
See Onshore wind energy in your community
See Onshore wind energy in your community
Piledriving during the short period of construction of an offshore wind farm can be noisy. Where the wind farm is sufficiently close to land that such noise would disturb the local population, conditions can be included in the consent for the wind farm to minimise the noise levels. Such conditions are agreed and monitored by the local planning authority (LPA).
Also see See Onshore wind energy in your community
The Crown Estate is currently funding a four-year project to assess the potential impact that sub-sea noise and vibration from wind turbines could have on marine life. Interim information from this project will be published as it becomes available. It will inform guidance on mitigation and good management practice. Further information is available from the Crown Estate at www.thecrownestate.co.uk.
The Crown Estate funded a project, completed in July 2003, to calculate the strength, frequencies and wavelengths of electromagnetic fields produced by the cabling needed for an offshore wind farm. A second phase of the project is planned. The second phase will make in-situ measurements and investigate the sensitivities of various fish species to electromagnetic fields. Further information is available from the Crown Estate
Also see See Onshore wind energy in your community
The Ministry of Defence operates a network of early warning radar sites, principally along the east coast. At present, holding objections are made to wind farm proposals within 74 kilometres of these facilities, subject to the undertaking of detailed assessments of potential impacts.
Also see See Onshore wind energy in your community
The shipping and ports industries have expressed concern about the implications of some offshore developments. However, stakeholders at key stages of the strategic planning process have already been consulted. The shipping and ports communities will have an opportunity to give their views on projects when developers apply for formal consents. The Department for Transport and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency will be consulted on all consent applications. It has been made clear that consent for a wind farm that poses a danger to navigation will not be granted. Where it can be safely achieved, the possibility of routing shipping around wind farms is being considered.
BERR is actively taking forward a programme of research, co-ordinated by the cross-departmental Research Advisory Group, to improve understanding of the impact of offshore wind farms on navigation. A study has just been completed, though not yet published, into the effect of offshore wind farms on marine communications, radar and positioning systems. Further high-priority projects are planned to gather data on vessel traffic movements in the three strategic areas and to establish a methodology for assessing the cumulative impact of wind farms on navigation.
The presence of a wind farm does not necessarily exclude all fishing activity within its boundary, although some fishing activity could be affected to a greater or lesser extent.
The Fishing Liaison for Offshore Wind (FLOW) Group, chaired by BERR, brings together developers, fishing bodies and relevant government departments. The group aims to gain a better understanding of the interaction between wind farms and fishing. For instance, what fishing activities might be undertaken between turbines, and what size the safety zones around turbines should be if they are to ensure the safety of vessels and also maximise the opportunities for fishing.
BERR, on behalf of FLOW, is considering commissioning a study on what fishing may take place in and around turbines. The results of this study could help developers design wind farm arrays, which operate in harmony with the fishing industry.