The project
We supported the proposed Spiorad na Mara Offshore Wind Farm (OWF), located approximately 5-13 km off the west coast of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. With a planned capacity of 900 MW, this project has the potential to make a significant contribution to renewable energy in Scottish waters. Spiorad na Mara is owned by Northland Power (75.5%) and ESB (24.5%), with Northland leading on the development, construction, and operation.
As part of a comprehensive site characterisation assessment, we conducted a detailed benthic survey aboard the MV Situla. This work included drop-down camera surveys, grab sampling, and water sampling. Additionally, a local vessel was deployed for ROV and UAV surveys to map the extent of kelp, a Scottish Priority Marine Feature (PMF), within the potential export cable corridor.
Our work provided critical ground-truthing of acoustic data collected during geophysical surveys, contributing valuable ecological insights to inform the development of this proposed project.
* The seal image was captured during a live deployment of a BRUV system at the Spiorad na Mara site.
