The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has issued a review of environmental data associated with post-consent monitoring of licence conditions of offshore wind farms.
Fugro EMU has been contracted to undertake a review of post-consent monitoring data and reports collected from the UK offshore wind farm developments to investigate the evidence associated with environmental impacts and from this, to make recommendations to maximise the effectiveness of future monitoring programmes.
The report examines outcomes and conclusions from monitoring regimes undertaken as a result of statutory requirements imposed on developers of offshore wind farms (OWFs) in UK waters through consent conditions.
Consent conditions are typically developed between the regulator (advisors and stakeholders) and developer as a project evolves. The terms of the consent conditions are translated into monitoring specifications which are required to be undertaken for defined durations. The consent conditions require that the outcomes of these monitoring programmes are subsequently reported to the regulator.
Press release, April 15, 2014; Image: Forewind