RSPB Scotland has said it is "extremely concerned" that Scottish Ministers have approved four offshore wind farms in the Firth of Forth.

The conservation charity has said the developments could threaten marine wildlife in the area. On Friday (10 October), it was announced that the four wind farms had been approved. Together, they will consist of hundreds of turbines.

The Neart na Gaoith wind farm, east of the Fife Ness coastline, will consist of up to 75 turbines and generate 450MW of power. The Alpha and Bravo Seagreen developments will consist of up to 150 turbines when combined and could generate 1,050MW; while the Inch Cape development, which is also located off the Angus coastline, will have up to 110 turbines and generate 784MW.

In a statement, Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said the renewable energy is "extremely valuable" to the economy. He added: "These wind farms alone could generate a combined gross value added of between £314m and £1.2bn over their lifetime, and generate between 2,567 and 13,612 jobs within Scotland during the construction period.

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"I am determined to ensure communities all over Scotland reap the benefit from renewable energy, which will help to reduce climate emissions."

The plans have been welcomed by a number of organisations, including Friends of the Earth Scotland, however the RSPB Scotland has said it is concerned about the impact the developments will have on the local environment. In particular, it was concerned about the proximity of the wind farms to seabird colonies in the area.

Large colonies of gannet, kittiwake, puffin and razorbill breed along the coastlines where the wind farms have been proposed, including a 110,000 gannet colony at Bass Rock. The RSPB has said a decline in species will be "inevitable", due to the birds colliding with turbines and displacement from foraging grounds at sea.

Stuart Housden, Director of RSPB Scotland, explained: "The Scottish Government has done a good job of steering onshore windfarms away from the most damaging places for birds.

"So, having repeatedly raised our concerns about these offshore windfarms, it is extremely disappointing that they have decided to approve developments which put so many thousands of Scotland's seabirds at risk.

"If the models and assessments of potential damage prove accurate, these windfarms would be among the most deadly for birds anywhere in the world. We want to see the development of offshore wind in Scotland but it must not be at such massive cost to our internationally important seabirds."

(JP/IT)