Scotland’s newest offshore wind farm, Neart na Gaoithe (NnG), will begin one of the country’s most extensive seabird and marine monitoring programmes, aiming to gather continuous data on how key bird species behave around operational wind turbines, the developer said.
The 450-megawatt project, a joint venture between EDF power solutions UK and Ireland’s ESB, said the study would place NnG at the forefront of environmental evidence-gathering in the UK offshore wind sector. Data will be collected over two bird-breeding seasons, focusing on bird movements and potential interactions with turbines.
International environmental consultancy STRIX has been appointed to carry out the surveys and analysis. Following equipment installation and commissioning during 2025, full data collection is scheduled to begin in March 2026 and will run 24 hours a day. Monitoring equipment will be positioned across turbine clusters and at the boundaries of the wind farm site.
The programme combines Birdtrack-Radar3D technology, which uses radar and camera systems to track and classify birds, with six collision detection systems that employ multiple cameras and infrared illuminators mounted on turbine towers.
The monitoring forms part of a wider collaboration between NnG and two other offshore wind projects in the Forth and Tay region, Seagreen 1 and Berwick Bank. It is also a requirement under NnG’s Project Environmental Monitoring Programme set by Scottish ministers.
The new phase builds on around seven years of research at the site, including aerial surveys, GPS tagging of breeding seabirds, visual monitoring, ringing of adult birds, and the deployment of cameras and radar systems. NnG has also invested in marine mammal monitoring, using specialist moorings to detect harbour porpoise and dolphin vocalisations, and has co-funded a bottlenose dolphin photo-identification study.
The findings are expected to help inform the planning and design of future offshore wind developments and improve understanding of potential impacts on seabird populations.
“We are delivering environmental monitoring on a scale not previously seen in UK offshore wind,” said Polly Tarrant, environment manager at NnG. “This programme … will give us a far clearer picture of how important seabird species behave around operational turbines and will help ensure future projects are designed with the strongest possible evidence base.”
NatureScot, Scotland’s statutory nature adviser, welcomed the initiative. “The study’s scale and scope for both seabirds and marine mammals will help increase the evidence of how these key species interact with operational offshore wind farms in Scottish waters,” said Erica Knott, head of marine energy at NatureScot, adding that the results would support the assessment and design of future projects.
