COWRIE: Collaborative Offshore Wind Research into the Environment
As part of the procedures for round one, The Crown Estate set up a trust fund based on the refundable financial deposits made by developers. The fund has been set up for the purpose of generic research to benefit the early stages of the offshore windfarm industry as a whole and is administered by a steering group.
The COWRIE steering group is made up of experts from the offshore wind industry, Natural England, Countryside Council for Wales, Scottish Natural Heritage, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, DEFRA, CEFAS, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, BERR and RenewableUK. The steering group is chaired and administered by The Crown Estate.
The group has met regularly since November 2001 and, based upon an assessment of work completed to date in both the UK and other European countries, COWRIE has identified four priority areas for generic research. For further information please see the COWRIE website.
All research contracts have been awarded and work is underway. Interim and final reports will be posted on the COWRIE website on completion.
The COWRIE research studies are quite separate from the requirements on developers to undertake site investigations to inform the environmental impact assessments or site monitoring requirements but it is envisaged that the outcome of the research will be guidance and best practice which should be of great benefit to developers.
Further information
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