A new generation

With the North Sea firmly established as the engine room of the UK’s green and resilient future, offshore wind technology is changing the landscape and economies of our coastal communities…

Offshore wind is one of the UK’s biggest growth industries, key to the country’s net-zero hopes, employing thousands of people and attracting billions in investment. The UK remains in the top spot globally for total offshore wind capacity and, thanks to its shallow waters and consistent winds, the East Coast is fuelling this green-powered future. Wind farms are already a familiar sight along our coastline and – in line with the government’s British Energy Security Strategy – more are to be added in the coming years. These include Ørsted’s Hornsea 3 – which will see up to 231 wind turbines located 75 miles off the Norfolk coast to cater to the clean energy needs of well over 3m households – and ScottishPower Renewables’ East Anglia THREE, 43 miles off the Suffolk coast, which is expected to have up to 120 offshore wind turbines and cater for 1.3m households.

The UK’s most eastern port, Lowestoft is at the heart of the burgeoning offshore wind industry, offering close proximity to key sites for construction, operations and maintenance. Visit this year and you’ll see that this is a location benefitting from huge offshore wind industry- related investment; in the Outer Harbour, the Lowestoft Eastern Energy Facility (LEEF) is creating additional berthing space, new infill land, a deeper harbour approach, and office space with direct quayside access. A further development, expected to be operational from 2026, will add more quay space and berthing capacity, while retaining fish landing sites.

Further south, Five Estuaries Offshore Wind Farm is a proposed extension to the already-operational £1.5bn 353MW Galloper Offshore Wind Farm operated by German energy company RWE from a state-of-the- art, purpose-built Operations & Maintenance facility in Harwich International Port. Covering approximately 149km2 across two seabed areas, the windfarm will be 23 miles offshore at its closest point to Suffolk and could generate enough energy each year to power hundreds of thousands of UK households.

This project is still in development stage, with a detailed Development Consent Order application expected to be submitted this winter and, if all goes to plan, construction starting in 2027 with the wind farm being operational by 2030. »

Inset: Five Estuaries

Saving The Seabirds

Themove towards a green future comes at a potential ecological cost: when Hornsea 3 received planning permission there was a requirement for compensation measures to help a vulnerable seabird species whose population could be affected – the black-legged kittiwake. And this year, in a first-of-its-kind project, Ørsted is providing artificial nesting structures for kittiwakes in the waters off the east coast – two around half a mile from the shoreline of South Beach, Lowestoft, and one just under a mile from the shoreline of the RSPB Minsmere Nature Reserve further south in Suffolk – each with approximately 500 nesting spaces.

Designed by a team of ornithologists, architects and engineers to ensure they are attractive to kittiwakes and sit with the landscape, these bespoke structures (concept illustration above) have narrow ledges and vertical sides to replicate the cliffs where the birds would naturally nest, along with eight sides to give them different options in case one side is too sunny or too windy.

The main structure is submarine grey to blend in with the sky and sea, while the yellow base and light at the top are essential navigational aids for

Named as vulnerable and at risk of extinction on the UK’s Red List for Birds of Conservation Concern, kittiwake are small and gentle, feed only on marine fish and small crustaceans and spend the winter at sea, returning to nest between March and August each year. With short black legs and wings that look like they have been dipped in ink, they’re not to be confused with the herring gulls and lesser black-backed gulls which can be found in towns all seafarers and sailors. Each will be monitored to count the number of birds, occupied nests, and their productivity. year round, eat from open litter bins and attempt to pinch your fish and chips when you’re enjoying a day at the seaside. Lowestoft and Sizewell are the only locations between Kent and Humberside with thriving kittiwake colonies – they normally nest on steep cliffs with narrow ledges but, as East Anglia doesn’t offer many of these natural nesting locations, the birds have reverted to colonising urban areas – for example on the windowsills and ledges of buildings – where they cause a nuisance to the communities living close by.

In a further bid to help these vulnerable birds and, at the same time, prevent them being a nuisance to townsfolk, green energy companies Vattenfall and ScottishPower Renewables unveiled the UK’s first kittiwake ‘hotels’ in Lowestoft this spring. Built in response to estimates that the global kittiwake population has fallen by around 40 per cent since the 1970s, the structures (above) create a safe nesting area for around 430 pairs on land at the Outer Harbour owned by the Port of Lowestoft.

Working with the Lowestoft Kittiwake Partnership – created by Suffolk Wildlife Trust and the RSPB – Vattenfall has also made a five-year, £50,000 funding commitment to help provide advice and support for businesses and residents living alongside nesting kittiwakes, as well as money for cleaning up after the birds and creating further alternative nesting sites.