HiDef Lands Hornsea Project Three Wildlife Survey Contract

DONG Energy has selected HiDef Aerial Surveying Limited to undertake ultra-high resolution digital video aerial surveys for birds and marine megafauna across the Hornsea Project Three offshore wind farm. 

The Hornsea Zone is located adjacent to the River Humber, approximately 200 kilometres south of Newcastle and 75 kilometres north of The Wash.

Hornsea Project Three is the latest project to be developed in the Hornsea Zone and may total up to 2.4GW, which would make it the largest capacity offshore wind farm in the world.

DONG purchased the rights to develop the remainder of the Hornsea Round 3 zone from the SMartwind consortium in August 2015.

DONG Energy’s Jeremy Martin said: “Taking forward HOW03 shows that DONG Energy is firmly committed to the UK’s renewables sector and demonstrates our position as the market leader in offshore wind. We are delighted to be continuing our excellent working relationship with HiDef on HOW03, which we believe underlines their industry leading service.”

The survey programme at Hornsea Project Three builds upon the work that HiDef is already undertaking for DONG Energy, which includes the Burbo Bank Extension and Isle of Man projects.

“HiDef’s transect-based survey method has firmly established itself as the industry standard, giving accurate and precise results which are trusted by both the development community and the statutory stakeholders,” Steve Burns, HiDef’s Technical Director, said.

”Feedback from the statutory stakeholders has shown that HiDef’s technology is the preferred choice for both the development and conservation sectors. The development of post-2020 projects is essential in ensuring that the UK continues to lead the way in offshore wind, creating and protecting both jobs in the UK and the country’s energy security. HOW03 is an exciting project to be involved with and we are relishing the challenge of being at the forefront of new development.”