Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Environmental impact of Belgian offshore wind farms: Learning from the past to optimise future monitoring programmes Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences Operational Directorate Natural Environment Steven Degraer Delphine Coates, Jan Vanaverbeke, Jan, Reubens, Magda Vincx, Eric Stienen, Nicolas Vanermen, Kris Hostens, Sofie Vandendriessche, Jozefien Derweduwen, Ilse De Mesel, Robin Brabant, Bob Rumes, Marisa Di Marcantonio, Alain Norro, Francis Kerckhof, Jan Haelters, Laurence Vigin & colleagues In collaboration with: Ghent University, Marine Biology Section Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) Fisheries Research Institute (ILVO-Fisheries) OFFSHORE WIND FARMS IN BELGIAN WATERS C-Power • 54 wind turbines (WT); total capacity: 325 MW • Phase I: 6 WT (5 MW, gravity base foundations) operational since 2009 • Phase II: 48 WT (6 MW, jacket foundations) construction ongoing Belwind • 110 WT of 3 MW; total: 330 MW • Phase I: 55 monopile WT + 1 OHVS operational since 2010 • Phase II: 55 monopile WT in 2014 Northwind • 72 WT of 3 MW; total: 216 MW • Construction ongoing Belwind Northwind Four more domain concessions • 210-294 WT; total: 1243-1634 MW • Two projects: environmental permit granted C-Power Once all constructed... • Total surface area: 238 km² • Number of turbines: 446 - 530 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS EXPECTED GUARANTEES FOR ECOSYSTEM INTEGRITY Mandatory monitoring programme to ensure... • possible mitigation or halting of activities • understanding of impact processes to support future policy and management Environmental issues to consider • Underwater noise • Hydrodynamics and sedimentology • Electro-magnetic fields • Hard substrate epifouling organisms • Hard substrate-associated fish • Soft substrate macrobenthos • Soft substrate epibenthos and fish • Seabirds • Marine mammals (focus: harbour porpoise Phocaena phocaena) • Social acceptance Morus bassana THE CHALLENGE... Basic and targeted monitoring Basic monitoring • Focus on a posteriori resultant effect quantification • Site-specific • Observing rather than understanding impacts • Basis for halting activities Phocoena phocoena Balanus perforatus Targeted monitoring • Focus on cause-effect relationships of selected, a priori defined impacts • From observation-driven to hypothesis-driven monitoring • Understanding rather than observing impacts • Basis for mitigating activities and future policy Gadus morhua SNAPSHOT EXAMPLES Seabird avoidance, attraction and collision Basic monitoring results • Observations of species being attracted • Observations of species being repulsed SNAPSHOT EXAMPLES Seabird avoidance, attraction and collision Targeted monitoring theoretic framework • Attracted species suffering an increased risk of collision • Repulsed species loosing suitable habitat SNAPSHOT EXAMPLES Seabird avoidance, attraction and collision Increased collision risk • Less an issue for e.g. terns and auks • Major issue for larger gulls SNAPSHOT EXAMPLES Seabird avoidance, attraction and collision Ecologically relevant context setting needed • Attracted seabirds may suffer significant losses at population scale • Next step: improved feeding conditions? For each 10 000 wind turbines in the North Sea: SNAPSHOT EXAMPLES Harbour porpoise escape and redistribution Observed distribution Prior to piling Phocoena phocoena During piling Modelled distribution During piling SNAPSHOT EXAMPLES Artifical reef effect: organic enrichment Transect a Transect b SNAPSHOT EXAMPLES Artifical reef effect: organic enrichment Gravity based foundation Number of detections Small-scale distribution of cod (Gadus morhua) pouting Jassa species Distance from foundation (m) • Attraction of fish – up to 29.000 individuals of pouting (Trisopterus luscus) per wind turbine! • Attraction-production hypothesis – Hard substrate epifauna is an important food source for pouting SNAPSHOT EXAMPLES Artifical reef effect: organic enrichment Spatial extension incresing… • At present: observable enrichment effect only close to wind turbines • Future: extended throughout the whole wind farm? time ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS Understanding as a basis assessment and evaluation Positive? Negative? Seabirds Food resources Increased risk of collision Marine mammals (Increased food availability) Temporarily loss of habitat Hard substrate fish Production Attraction Soft-sediment fish Higher survival rate of larger fish Increased predation of smaller fish Fouling invertebrates Net increased production Increased risk of invasions → Basic and targeted monitoring needed… LESSONS LEARNED FOR FUTURE MONITORING Basic monitoring considerations • Succession trajectory • Climax condition not reached after six years… • Continuation of long-term series for all ecosystem components • Likelihood of impact detection (statistical power) • Linked to research effort, data noise and impact size • Scientifically underpinned research effort allocation in space and time • Meaningfulness of impact size • (Inter)national regulations setting the scene… • Representativeness • Natural and human-induced gradients: well-deliberated focus needed • Cumulative effects • Within offshore renewables • Across human activities LESSONS LEARNED FOR FUTURE MONITORING Targeted monitoring considerations • Targeted monitoring focus • Hypothesised underlying cause-effect relationships are plentiful • Well-considered selection of priority cause-effect relationships • Artificial reef effect at the heart of targeted monitoring • Structural, yet more importantly functional relationships to be disentangled • Pelagic fish ! • Obvious scope for increased time- and cost-efficiency • International collaboration strongly advised Further reading and information... WinMon.BE 2013 conference Brussels, 26-28 November 2013 • • • • Report launching Presentation of Belgian findings Thoughts for future monitoring (Visit to the Belgian offshore wind farms) • www2.mumm.ac.be/winmonbe2013 More information via www.mumm.ac.be I will be around for further detailing…