Seiche Leads Pilot Study to Assess Piling Noise Offshore

Seiche, in collaboration with a consortium of leading marine science organizations, is delivering a pilot program to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of proposed underwater noise limits from pile driving during the construction of offshore wind farms.

Commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the pilot study is being delivered by Seiche as lead contractor, working alongside partners SAMS Enterprise, SMRU Consulting and TNO. The study commenced during piling operations at RWE's Sofia Offshore Wind Farm and continued at Scottish Power Renewables' East Anglia THREE Offshore Wind Farm, both of which have adopted noise reduction measures during construction in 2025 and 2026.

This pilot study follows a desk-based feasibility study undertaken by Seiche and Tetra Tech RPS Energy which evaluated realistic noise limit thresholds and designed the program to test these scenarios in real-world settings.

Using a combination of autonomous underwater recording units (ARUs) and porpoise click detectors (F-PODs), the study will:

• Assess the effectiveness of various noise abatement technologies under real conditions.
• Evaluate how achievable the proposed decibel limits are in practice.
• Improve scientific understanding of marine mammal disturbance, both with and without noise abatement systems (NAS).
• Document operational experiences with NAS deployment in English and Welsh waters
• Utilize results to