The Scottish Seabird Centre has said plans to place offshore windfarms on the Firth of Forth could kill 2,500 puffins and gannets a year
Thousands of puffins that nest on islands on the Forth every year could be killed if plans go ahead for hundreds of offshore wind turbines, a charity warned following the launch of an investigation into the proposal.
Scottish Seabird Centre chief executive Tom Brock spoke out as a judicial review lodged by RSPB Scotland into Scottish ministers' decision to grant consent for four windfarms off the Firths of Forth and Tay commenced today (Tuesday, 26 May). The case will be heard in the Court of Session in Edinburgh and it is anticipated to last up to eight days.
The centre wants research into the impact of off-shore windfarms on sea bird populations carried out as a matter of urgency to protect the internationally recognised colonies of puffins and gannets on the Forth.
Brock said: “To help reduce climate change, we recognise the need for renewable energy developments at appropriate locations. However, we are extremely concerned about the potential impacts that a development of this scale (335 large wind turbines) will have on the large number of internationally important seabird colonies in the vicinity.
“Key decisions are being made when there are significant knowledge gaps: this is something that must be tackled head-on. It is essential that relevant research is undertaken as a priority to ensure that these important decisions are evidence-based and risks to Scotland’s seabirds are minimised.”
The Firth of Forth is of international importance for seabirds: notably the Bass Rock is the world’s largest colony of northern gannets with over 75,000 occupied sites and the Isle of May National Nature Reserve is the largest puffin colony on the east coast with around 46,000 occupied burrows.
It has been claimed that the proposed windfarms will kill seabirds on a regular basis. Some estimates suggest that over 2,500 will be killed annually from being hit by the blades of the turbines. However, other estimates suggest that total seabird mortality will be much higher.
Multi-award winning environmentalist, Jean-Michel Cousteau, the son of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, who has undertaken four decades of pioneering work around the world’s oceans, is backing the Scottish Seabird Centre’s call for further research.
Cousteau said: “For many of us who have dedicated our whole lives to protecting our planet and seek solutions to deal with climate change and renewable energy, we look for progress to make a difference for humans and all species. But not all efforts are equally progressive.
“A renewable energy solution as proposed in Scotland at the firths of Forth and Tay windfarms comes at the potential expense of critical seabird populations. This is not progress. It is not a solution. It trades off one problem for another that is unacceptable.
“For every action there is a reaction and that is what is happening here. People protect what they love. And the seabirds of the Scottish coast are truly loved.”
Scottish ministers gave permission for the four wind farms - Seagreen Alpha, Seagreen Bravo, Neart na Gaoithe and Inch Cape - in October 2014.
In a statement from RSPB Scotland, it said it was: "confident that our case is sound and we are hopeful that it will be successful, but given the active legal proceedings it would not be appropriate to comment further on the case at this time."
