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Dark day for seabirds as Berwick Bank mega windfarm granted consent - RSPB

Puffins, Kittiwakes and Gannets could face catastrophe following Scottish Government’s decision.

The Scottish Government have granted consent for SSE Renewables proposed Berwick Bank offshore windfarm. RSPB Scotland, together with partners, had called for plans for the mega offshore windfarm to be refused to protect our globally important seabirds.

The development is close to iconic colonies like the Bass Rock – home to the world's largest colony of Northern Gannets. It’s estimated that the windfarm will kill tens of thousands of seabirds over its lifetime, including Kittiwakes, Puffins and Gannets.

Although Scottish Ministers require the developers to demonstrate that “sufficient” seabird compensation will be put in place before the project can start, it is not clear how the thousands of seabirds predicted to be killed can be compensated for.

Anne McCall, Director of RSPB Scotland, said: “This is a very dark day for seabirds. It is a terrible decision on a really bad development. Berwick Bank would be catastrophic for Scotland’s globally important seabirds which are already facing alarming declines. In addition, its impacts are so damaging they will make the relative impacts of other windfarms significantly higher. This one windfarm is going to make it really challenging to accelerate renewable projects across Scottish seas. We are incredibly concerned that Scottish Government have granted consent for a project which could catapult some of Scotland’s most-loved seabird species towards extinction.”