THE consortium developing Northern Ireland’s first offshore wind farm off the East Down coastline is to begin work on detailed aerial surveys in the area.
First Flight Wind has announced that a plane equipped with four high definition video cameras will fly over the so-called wind resource zone each month recording bird and marine mammal activity.
The twin-engined aircraft will fly 2,000 feet above the sea, with flights limited to daylight hours during reasonable weather conditions.
The results of the survey will help determine which birds and marine mammal species use the area earmarked for the turbines and help identify any potential effects on sea birds and marine mammals.
First Flight Wind has also confirmed that the aerial surveys will be augmented by boat-based sea bird and marine mammal surveys scheduled to start next spring.
Jack Farnham, the offshore consents manager for First Flight Wind, explained the aerial surveys were part of the consortium’s drive to understand exactly how birds and marine mammals use the wind resource zone through all the seasons.
“This first aerial survey marks the start of a broader environmental and engineering survey campaign which will help to determine a suitable location for the wind farm within the wind resource zone, prior to any consent application,” he said.
News of the surveys comes after local politicians called for a meeting with First Flight Wind representatives to discussed the proposed wind farm off part of the East Down coastline.
Councillor Dermot Curran said it was important that the potential impact the wind farm could have on the local fishing and tourist industries was fully explored.
He said the fishing industry employed hundreds of people at sea and on land and contributed hundreds of thousands of pounds to the local economy and “must be protected at all costs.”
Various information points detailing the wind farm proposal are located across the district. They include Ardglass Community Centre, Sea Gems at Ardglass harbour, Castlewellan, Portaferry, Newcastle and Downpatrick libraries, Dundrum Post Office and Newcastle Tourist Information Centre.
First flight Wind is also encouraging anyone with an interest in the wind farm project to complete a feedback questionnaire which can be downloaded or completed online at www.firstflightwind.com until January 11. Questionnaires are also available at any of the above listed information points.