The Anonymous Widower

Vattenfall: Dolphins Unfazed By Offshore Wind Construction Work

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.

This is the sub-heading.

Concerns have been raised that the installation of the monopiles of the Vesterhav North wind farm offshore Denmark could cause a small pod of dolphins to leave the area. The dolphins have, however, neither left the area nor have they changed their behaviour, Vattenfall, the owner and developer of the wind farm, said.

These are the first two paragraphs.

In 2020, wildlife and underwater photographer Lars Mikkelsen discovered a pod of seven Common Bottlenose dolphins during a sailing trip in the canal between the North Sea and the Limfjord at the Danish coastal town of Thyborøn. Since then, Mikkelsen has been closely following the dolphins that are rare guests in the seas around Denmark.

The small pod of dolphins has for the past three years established residence in the area of the Danish part of the North Sea where Vattenfall is constructing its Vesterhav offshore wind farms.

This Google Map shows the Limfjord, which stretches between the North Sea and the Kattegat.

Thyborøn, is at the Western entrance to the Limfjord, which leads into the large area of water in the South-West of the map.

From its Wikipedia entry, the Limfjord seems to be an ecologically-interesting place.

This paragraph sums up how the construction affected the dolphins.

So, when concerns were raised that the installation of the wind farm’s monopiles could cause the dolphins to leave the area, Vattenfall initiated a collaborative monitoring effort. Fortunately, it showed that the dolphins were still present and have not changed behaviour after completion of the monopile installation.

Note.

1. Vattenfall did adopt measures to mitigate the noise, as is detailed in the article.
2. A university also took a series of measurements.

But the exercise does show it is possible to install offshore wind farms without disturbing the inhabitants.

May 16, 2023 - Posted by AnonW | Energy | Denmark, Dolphins, Offshore Wind Power, Vattenfall, Wind Power