Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V. (NABU) filed a complaint against the construction of the Butendiek offshore wind farm to the Administrative Court in Köln on April 17, with reference to the Environmental Damage Act. The environmental association is concerned about the possible effects on protected m
The UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has published a Good Practice Guide for Underwater Noise Measurement, giving guidance on best practice for in-situ measurement of underwater sound, for processing the data, and for reporting the measurements using appropriate metrics. From a scientific poi
Two bird conservation organisations have raised concerns by the new proposal to develop wind energy. In an April 4 letter, the Washington, D.C.-based American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and the Ohio-based Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO), voiced concerns about the six-turbine “Icebreaker” project, lo
Researchers at the Graduate School of Oceanography and Department of Geosciences at the University of Rhode Island have compared top-down and bottom-up approaches to benthic habitat mapping, as a response to increased interest in ocean renewables in the United States. The research was conducted at t
Peter Kydd, chairman of the South West Marine Energy Park, claims that tidal lagoons would be a more feasible solution for harnessing tidal power from the Severn Estuary than a barrage, WalesOnline informs. “Having a structured plan to develop the Severn’s tidal power resource in this way could prod
APEM recently worked on Scottish Power Renewables and Vattenfall’s application for a major new windfarm off the coast of East Anglia. If approved by the government, East Anglia ONE would consist of up to 325 turbines generating 1,200MW, making it one of the biggest offshore windfarms in the world. A
WWF backs a call in a major UN scientific report that the world should more than triple investments in sustainable, safe low-carbon energy sources as the main measure to mitigate climate change. The report, agreed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), says that the world should tr
The European Parliament endorsed on April 17th a Directive for Maritime Spatial Planning which should help Member States develop plans to better coordinate the various activities that take place at sea, ensuring they are as efficient and sustainable as possible. In coastal and maritime areas, many a
Three large offshore wind players, DONG Energy, E.ON and Strabag have established a joint venture company to perform an environmental study in waters off Borkum in the German North Sea. The joint venture aims at not only reducing the project costs of offshore wind farms, but also at mitigating their
First Flight Wind has released results of the survey of public views on offshore wind turbines. Recently, they completed a second round of public consultation, during which they held a variety of community consultation events and used them to administer a questionnaire surveying the views of the pub
SMRU Marine, along with Fugro EMU, the National Physics Laboratory (NPL) and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), formed the team which were commissioned to conduct a comprehensive post consent monitoring review of 19 offshore wind farms. The review was commissioned and published by Cefas (the C
At the start of its sixth year in business, Baker Consultants has formalised its presence in Scotland with the appointment of Jane Forrest, to set-up and run a team near Aviemore, Inverness-shire. Jane joined the team at the beginning of April from a career supervising teams of site ecologists and m
Marine Ecological Surveys Ltd (MESL) is currently undertaking environmental survey activities at the Sheringham Shoal Offshore Windfarm. The survey will be conducted until 24th of April 2014, weather permitting, on behalf of Scira Offshore Energy Ltd. Humber Guardian, a research vessel operated by B
The Center for Conservation Biology has become part of an initiative to develop wind farms off Virginia’s coast. Making Wind Turbines More Bird FriendlyThe CCB is part of a team with the Richmond-based Timmons Group, an engineering and technology firm that is one of four Virginia businesses particip
