‘Offshore wind farms are vital to Scotland’s journey to net zero but must be sited in the right places for nature’
‘Offshore wind farms are vital to Scotland’s journey to net zero but must be sited in the right places for nature’
Conservationists are calling for Scottish ministers to refuse permission to build one of the world’s biggest offshore wind farms in seas off the east coast of Scotland due to fears over the environmental impacts and risks to fragile seabird populations
The proposed wind farm, in the outer Firth of Forth, will have more than 300 giant turbines stretched across an area four times larger than Edinburgh.
If built, the 4.1 gigawatt Berwick Bank “super project” would be the largest offshore wind farm in the UK, capable of powering over six million homes – more than double the number in Scotland.
The Scottish Government has set out a goal to deliver up to 11GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 as part of the national target to reach net zero climate emissions by 2045.
It's frustrating that these things are not considered when picking a potential location for the farm. To be clear I'm not saying we should go ahead and build anyway; the ecological impact of these projects are just as important as their output, but if this is cancelled not only is it likely that it will never get relocated elsewhere, but it'll also be used as yet another reason why 'renewables = bad'. What a massive waste of funding and potential.
Unfortunately wind farms are always going to have an impact on nature. All major infrastructure projects do. The alternative of continuing to rely on fossil fuels is already having a way more damning impact on all wildlife.