Wozep research programme

Wozep research strategy

Wozep focuses on investigating the impact of wind turbines. How does underwater noise affect the behaviour of harbour porpoises? How do rotating rotor blades affect coastal birds and seabirds? And so on. Investigating the impact will allow for more accurate estimates of the number of victims and the impact on populations of vulnerable species. Measurements (for example with radar or GPS) and observations (of things like behaviour, species identification) are made in the field and existing datasets from long-term programmes monitoring birds and marine mammals are used for this purpose. Models have been developed for calculating the effect on the populations of, for example, vulnerable bird species, both for areas where wind farms are currently located and for future scenarios. Important building blocks for these models include the data that Wozep has collected and the knowledge rules it has developed.

On the pages dedicated to birds, bats, marine mammals, fish and ecosystem effects, you can read more about the research that has been done, the results and how they have been used in policy and management.