Advice on collision risk modelling for offshore wind developments published by the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs) in the UK.
Recently, the SNCBs of the United Kingdom (which comprises the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and NatureScot) published a joint advice note in August 2024. The aim of this report is to provide updated guidance and recommendations on how offshore wind farm studies should incorporate bird collision risk modelling into the impact assessment process.
These included recommendations for modelling techniques from deterministic Band collision risk models and the potential for the incorporation of variability through stochastic modelling known as sCRMs by Caneco & Humphries (2022). These sCRMs can provide a distribution of likely collision rates, rather than a single rate, through the introduction of stochasticity around the models input parameters. Furthermore, the SNCBs report provides updated recommendations values for the estimation parameters to be included in these models for a number of seabird species including gulls, terns and skuas (Factors include avoidance rate, flight speeds, nocturnal activity factor, body length, wingspan, flight types and percentage of flights upwind for these key species). Other factors, such as bird density data and how to provide appropriate estimates for each type of analysis and data are also included.
Finally, the SNCB recommends that further work is required, for example, the collection of data on collision and avoidance behaviour for more sites, in particular offshore locations, data on the probability of birds passing through rotor swept zones, reviews of flight speed and height data and a review on the validity, and suitability, of methods for site-specific flight height estimates.
MKO currently incorporates bird flight height data and collision modelling into Ornithology studies on wind farm sites to provide estimates of collision risk for bird species of concern. The advice from the SNBC will be taken on-board and will aid with future collision modelling studies, ensuring we at MKO are up-to-date with current best practices.
References:
JNCC, Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, NatureScot. 2024. Joint advice note from the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs) regarding bird collision risk modelling for offshore wind developments. JNCC, Peterborough. https://hub.jncc.gov.uk/f7892820-0f84-4e96-9eff-168f93bd343d.