Wind farm in North Sea with hardly any impact on fauna

A North-Sea wind farm has hardly any negative effects on fauna. At most, a few bird species will avoid such a wind farm. It turns out that a wind farm also provides a new natural habitat for organisms living on the sea bed such as mussels, anemones, and crabs, thereby contributing to increased biodiversity.
For fish and marine mammals, it provides an oasis of calm in a relatively busy coastal area, according to researcher Prof. Han Lindeboom at IMARES, part of Wageningen UR, and several of his colleagues and fellow scientists at Bureau Waardenburg and Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ).
The team of researchers focused on the short-term ecological effects of a wind farm in the North Sea. To do so, they analysed the effects of the offshore wind farm near Egmond aan Zee (OWEZ) on benthic organisms, fish, birds and marine mammals.
The research carried out within the OWEZ wind farm revealed little effect during the first few years on the benthic organisms in the sandy areas between the wind turbines. After the construction of a wind farm, whereby the driving of piles into the sea bed can have a disruptive influence, potential effects were expected from the presence of new hard substrate in the form of piles and protective rocks. Effects might also result from the presence of rotating wind turbine blades, possible underwater noise and the absence of other human activities such as commercial fishing. Overall, the OWEZ wind farm functions as a new type of habitat with more species of benthic organisms and a possibly increased use of the area by fish, marine mammals and some bird species, whereas the presence of other bird species is reduced. On the basis of comparisons with results found elsewhere, the scientists conclude that the impact of a wind farm depends on the location of the wind farm and the depth of the surrounding sea.
The research was funded by NoordzeeWind, a joint venture of Nuon and Shell Wind Energy, and was carried out by a consortium consisting of IMARES, Koninklijk NIOZ and Bureau Waardenburg.
iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/6/3/035101