Scotland's newest offshore wind farm, Neart na Gaoithe (NnG), has initiated one of the UK's most extensive environmental monitoring programmes.

Located 15.5km off the Fife coast, the 450MW facility is deploying advanced technology to gather continuous data on how key seabird species interact with operational turbines.

The study, a joint venture between EDF Renewables UK and ESB, became fully operational last summer and is now at the forefront of environmental evidence-gathering. Over two bird-breeding seasons, the programme will focus on two primary data sets: the 3D flight patterns and behavioural responses of birds within the site, and the recording of any bird collisions.

International consultancy STRIX has been appointed to manage the surveys and subsequent analysis. Starting in March 2026, data collection will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The monitoring suite features two core technologies:

• Birdtrack-Radar3D: An integrated system of radars and cameras used to track and classify birds at medium to long ranges.

• Collision Detection Systems: Six units featuring upward-pointing cameras and infra-red illuminators mounted on turbine towers, capable of recording and categorising bird activity around the blades.

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This phase is part of a larger collaborative effort involving the Seagreen 1 and Berwick Bank wind farms. It also fulfills requirements established by Scottish Ministers under NnG's Project Environmental Monitoring Programme (PEMP).

The project follows seven years of existing research, which included GPS tagging, digital aerial surveys, and visual monitoring. In addition to avian research, NnG has invested in marine mammal protection. Specialised moorings have been deployed to detect the vocalisations of dolphins and harbour porpoises, while a co-funded photo-identification study is helping researchers understand bottlenose dolphin populations along the east coast. This work also supports "Citizen Fins," a website allowing the public to contribute photographs for scientific tracking.

Polly Tarrant, Environment Manager at NnG, stated: "We are delivering environmental monitoring on a scale not previously seen in UK offshore wind. This programme, a collaboration between a number of different partners, will give us a far clearer picture of how important seabird species behave around operational turbines and will help ensure future projects are designed with the strongest possible evidence base. By working constructively with other partners, we're building knowledge that supports both Scotland's and the UK's renewable energy ambitions as well as the long-term health of the marine environment."

Erica Knott, Head of Marine Energy at NatureScot, added: "We welcome this collaborative environmental monitoring programme being led by NnG. The study's scale and scope for both seabirds and marine mammals will help increase the evidence of how these key species interact with operational offshore wind farms in Scottish waters. This is particularly important given the other pressures they are facing in our marine environment. The results will help assess forthcoming projects as well as the planning and design of offshore windfarms in the future."