Say no to Berwick Bank windfarm
Take action with the Scottish Seabird Centre.
Join the RSPB’s Mary Davies as she meets some local wildlife and helps with the work to protect it.
Proposed mega offshore wind development could be catastrophic for seabirds
RSPB-led coalition call for development off the East Lothian coast to be rejected.
Posted 5 min read
A globally important area for seabirds will be severely at risk if a proposed offshore wind development, Berwick Bank, is approved. The proposed development is immediately next to the Outer Firth of Forth and St Andrews Bay Complex Special Protection Area. This is designated for its globally-important seabird populations.
The proposal is for a 4.1 GW project with 307 turbines, each one 355 metres high to blade tip. If it is built, it will be one of the largest in the world.
Berwick Bank, in its current form, would be more destructive to seabirds that any other proposed offshore wind farm in Scottish waters. It has the potential to kill tens of thousands of seabirds and to displace tens of thousands more over its lifetime.
This area is used extensively for Kittiwakes, Puffins and Gannets. What’s more, shallow waters near the shore are the most important for many seabirds to find food for their young.
New information has now been presented to the Scottish Government. This shows we can develop other offshore locations in the North Sea in a way that makes progress for the climate but doesn’t have the same damaging impact on seabirds.
It can’t be overstated. If the Scottish Government allows Berwick Bank to go ahead, the impacts will be so enormous that future potentially less damaging developments will not be able to proceed. The impact of Berwick Bank will be so destructive that it will be impossible to approve projects that have relatively less serious impacts on seabirds. The damage will have already been done.
The best solution for climate and nature is to refuse Berwick Bank and focus on less damaging projects that still work for the climate.
Scotland’s globally important seabird populations are in serious decline. These decisions have the potential to accelerate that process.
Berwick Bank has been estimated to kill 329 Gannets and 986 Kittiwakes a year through collision alone and to further impact thousands of seabirds through displacement and barrier effects each year. This comprises: Guillemot (up to 3,021), Kittiwake (up to 416), Razorbill (up to 441), Gannet (up to 138), and Puffin (up to 136).
