New Wave Media

April 9, 2025

Fugro, Spoor Join Forces for AI Bird Monitoring for Offshore Wind Farms

(Credit: Fugro)

(Credit: Fugro)

Fugro and Spoor, a software company that helps renewable energy projects reduce their environmental impact, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop a new bird-monitoring solution for offshore renewable energy projects.

The artificial intelligence (AI)-powered system will not only help protect bird populations but also supports the growth of renewable energy by making environmental assessments more affordable, cleaner, and safer.

The solution uses video cameras installed on Fugro’s SEAWATCH Wind Lidar and other metocean buoys to record bird activity at wind farm locations. Spoor’s advanced computer vision and AI software then analyses these recordings to quickly and accurately identify bird species.

Traditional bird monitoring methods require good weather and aircraft or vessel surveys, which are costly, have a high carbon footprint, and pose safety risks to field staff. Fugro and Spoor’s system overcomes these challenges by using buoy-mounted cameras that capture high-quality video year-round, even in harsh sea conditions.

This approach provides a more reliable and cost-effective way to conduct legally required environmental impact assessments for offshore wind farms.

The launch of this new bird-monitoring solution was already tested at Hywind Tampen offshore wind farm in the Norwegian North Sea.

SEAWATCH-based bird identification and tracking at Hywind Tampen offshore wind farm (Credit: Spoor and Fugro)

“We’re excited to be unlocking insights by connecting Spoor’s advanced computer vision software with our world-leading SEAWATCH buoy technology to create a reliable bird-monitoring platform that can withstand tough offshore conditions. This innovative partnership will streamline bird-monitoring at wind farms and support the development of offshore projects,” said Jørn Erik Norangshol, Fugro’s Regional Service Line Director, Metocean Science for Europe and Africa.

“This partnership with Fugro marks an exciting step forward in making offshore bird monitoring simpler, smarter, and more scalable. By embedding Spoor’s AI-powered bird tracking into Fugro’s offshore platforms, we’re giving developers access to high-quality, reliable data to meet biodiversity requirements,” added Christian Skaarup Rasmussen, Spoor’s Vice President of Partner Sales.

In this edition MTR explores the drivers for subsea exploration in 2025 and beyond
Read the Magazine Sponsored by

People, Companies & Products News

Marine Technology Magazine Cover Mar 2025 -

Marine Technology Reporter is the world's largest audited subsea industry publication serving the offshore energy, subsea defense and scientific communities.

Subscribe
Marine Technology ENews subscription

Marine Technology ENews is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

Subscribe for MTR E-news