An industry first: ‘birdhouses’ built on offshore wind farms

Danish wind power giant Orsted has built three giant artificial birdhouses designed to house a sensitive species of seabird near England’s offshore wind farm called Hornsea 3. As is known, wind farms can have negative effects on the bird ecosystem due to their location. Such approaches may be the key to the solution.

A first in the industry

Hornsea 3 will be located approximately 120 kilometers off the east coast of England and will operate as a 2.85 gigawatt offshore wind farm when completed. While the project is expected to be completed by 2025, it is predicted that it will be able to provide energy to more than 3 million households. Another highlight of the project is that it is the first UK offshore wind project to require ecological compensation.

To get approval for Hornsea 3, Orsted needed to find a solution for black-legged kittiwakes (also known as Rissa tridactyla), an endangered seabird species that could potentially be affected by Hornsea 3. Although this bird species looks like seagulls, they are actually very different. Both small and gentle, these birds feed only on marine fish and small crustaceans.

Eleni Antoniou, Orsted’s environmental manager, said: “Given that kittiwakes are at risk of extinction and that climate change is a major factor in the decline of this species, switching to a green energy system could significantly help protect the species in the long term. Meanwhile, providing these structures will provide a safe nesting site to enable future generations to raise their offspring away from predators and outside urban centres.”