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Preface and Contents Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm – EIA Report

Community Windpower Ltd This Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) has been prepared for the Scottish Government Energy Consents Unit to accompany the planning application for consent to construct a wind farm (Scoop Hill) under Section 36 of the Godscroft Lane Electricity Act 1989. Frodsham Cheshire The EIAR has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the European Directives 85/337/EEC and WA6 6XU 97/11/EC as applied through The Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 as amended. Tel: +44 (0)1928 734544 Fax: +44 (0)1928 734790 The EIAR also complies with The Electricity Works (Miscellaneous Temporary Modifications) (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 that were laid in on the 14th April 2020 and came into force on the 24th April www.communitywindpower.co.uk 2020. Therefore, please note that no physical copies of the documents are available to review at Council Offices or

Libraries due to the current COVID-19 restrictions. Document History Once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted all volumes of the EIAR and accompanying documents will be made available to

be viewed at the following addresses. The stated opening hours were correct prior to COVID-19, therefore they may CONFIDENTIALITY (Confidential or not confidential): Not confidential have changed following the lifting of restrictions and individuals should confirm before travelling.

Project Number: 374 Project Name Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm Location Opening Hours Library Report Title: Volume I – Environmental Impact Assessment Report 12A High Street Tuesday – 10:00am to 7:00pm Moffat Friday – 9:00am to 5:00pm Reference Number: 374-190820-3044 DG10 9HF Saturday – 9:00am to 12:00pm

Issued by: Community Windpower Limited Tel: 01683 220536 Johnstonebridge Community Centre

Kirkbank Road, Monday – 10:00am to 3:00pm Author Checked Approved Johnstonebridge, Tuesday – 10:00am to 3:00pm Wednesday – 10:00am to 15:00pm Steve Milburn Gillian Cropper Rod Wood DG11 1ES Thursday – 10:00 to 15:00pm

Tel: 01576 470325 This document has been written and collated by Community Windpower Ltd. Where external consultants have been Community Hub employed for assessment and report production, the sections are clearly identified. Community Hub, Thursday - 11:00am to 15:00pm The School, The content of this document remains the property of Community Windpower Ltd and, unless agreed in writing by Friday - 11:00am to 15:00pm Community Windpower Ltd, no other party may use, make use of or rely on any contents of the report. Saturday - 10:00am to 16:00pm DG13 0QJ Sunday - 10:00am to 16:00pm

Tel: 013873 73760

Dumfries and Galloway Council Monday – 9:00am to 5:00pm Kirkbank House English Street Tuesday – 9:00am to 5:00pm Wednesday – 9:00am to 5:00pm DG1 2HS Thursday – 9:00am to 5:00pm Friday – 9:00am to 5:00pm Tel: 030 33 33 3000

Preface and Contents – Page ii Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm – EIA Report Preface and Contents

The EIAR contains full details of all environmental impacts assessments which have been undertaken and includes figures (maps, diagrams and visualisations) and plates (photographs).

The EIAR (Volume I) is accompanied by two separate documents (Volume II and Volume III), which incorporate the GIS figures and visualisations relating to the Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) in Section 6 of the EIAR. Volume II and Volume III should be read in conjunction with Section 6 of Volume I.

Other documents accompany the Planning Application including a Non-Technical Summary, a Planning Statement, a Confidential Annex (for Nature Scot and the RSPB only), a Pre-Application Consultation Report, a Commitment to Communities Report and a draft Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP).

To obtain a copy of the full EIAR, please contact Community Windpower Ltd at Godscroft Lane, Frodsham, Cheshire, WA6 6XU, Tel: 01928 734544, Email: [email protected]. The cost to purchase the full EIAR is as follows:

• EIAR (Text & Figures) Volumes I, II and III printed copy: £850; and • EIAR (Text & Figures) Volumes I, II and III on CD/USB in PDF format: £30.

Preface and Contents – Page iii Preface and Contents Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm – EIA Report

Abstract In addition to significant financial investment the proposed Scoop Hill scheme will generate over 250 temporary jobs across the construction and supply industry and at least 11 permanent jobs would be created in the form of wind This document details the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) undertaken for a wind farm proposal of up to 525 turbine engineers, maintenance workers and a supervisor. MW situated within , approximately 5km south east of Moffat and 11km north east of CWL are committed to creating long-standing relationships with Scottish companies to deliver the Scoop Hill Lockerbie. This EIAR has been prepared to accompany the planning application made to the Scottish Government Community Wind Farm. Preference will be given to companies located in Dumfries and Galloway for these contracts, Energy Consents Unit (ECU) under The Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations and associated employment opportunities will be made available for local people through our ‘Buy Scottish’ policy. 2017. It is the opinion of the developer that all environmental impacts have been thoroughly assessed and any residual Scottish companies will be invited to bid for civil contracting for the construction of access tracks, turbine foundations, impacts have been reduced to an acceptable level. crane hardstands and borrow pits. The Scottish Government remains committed to and promotes the development of onshore wind as the lowest-cost During the operation of the Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm, CWL will focus on the provision of community benefits new-build electricity generation in Scotland and the UK. The Scottish Minister for Energy has stated ‘Renewable and and funding for Community Assets, aimed at meeting the economic, environmental and social requirements of local low carbon energy will provide the foundation of our future energy system, offering Scotland a huge opportunity for economic and industrial growth…We are promoting and exploring the potential of Scotland's renewable energy residents and the host communities. Consultations have been held with Community Councils to discuss the level of resource and its ability to meet our local and national heat, transport and electricity needs, while also contributing funding and appropriate distribution amongst the host communities. Subsequently, we will be delivering £500,000 to meeting our ambitious emissions reduction targets.’ (Scottish Government, 2018). per annum to a community benefit fund, to be divided between Eskdalemuir, Johnstonebridge, Kirkpatrick Juxta, Moffat and District, North Milk and Wamphray Community Councils. The submission of this strategic infrastructure project coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK economy has now suffered its biggest slump on record between April and June 2020 as coronavirus lockdown measures pushed the If consented, the Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm would also create an opportunity to develop a ‘Visitor Centre’ and country officially into recession. At the time of submission Scotland’s GDP was 17.6% below the level in February 2020, ‘Multi-Use Wind Farm Walk’, following the example of the phenomenally successful Whitelee Visitor Centre. while the UK’s GDP as a whole has reduced by 17.2% compared with February 2020. Unemployment levels are rising Dumfries and Galloway’s Landscape Capacity Study May 2017 states that “Following a review of visualisations from and there is a marked decline in confidence in Scotland’s economic outlook. key viewpoints in the field and additional sensitivity assessment of very large typology [turbines >150m], it is concluded Notwithstanding this, The Advisory Group on Economic Recovery in their report from 22nd June 2020, ‘Towards a that turbines towards 200m high to blade tip would be too large to accommodate as new developments in landscape robust, resilient wellbeing economy for Scotland’ has advised the Scottish Government that ‘the green economic and visual terms anywhere in Dumfries and Galloway apart from the Eskdalemuir unit of the Southern Uplands with recovery is central to the recovery overall’ and that the Government ‘now needs to establish a priority on delivering Forest [19a]. This is either because the receiving landscape is insufficiently extensive to minimise effects or because transformational change.’ more extensive and large-scale landscapes already accommodate many wind farms. The Eskdalemuir area of the Southern Uplands with Forest does not accommodate any existing wind energy development”. The Study also states The report goes on to state ‘There is also now an opportunity for Scotland to lever some of its natural advantages: that “In general, the larger the extent and scale of the upland landscape and its distance from more well-settled the almost limitless quantities of renewable energy potential from wind, wave and tidal power can be used to areas, the more scope there is for larger turbines to be accommodated. generate surpluses to export to the rest of the UK and elsewhere and to generate ‘green’ hydrogen to use in heat and transport sectors.’ For these reasons the site selection process has identified the Eskdalemuir area [19a] within which Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm site falls. The site is also located within an area classified as having ‘potential for wind farm The Scottish Government has endorsed this advice and in the September 2020 report ‘Protecting Scotland , Renewing development’ (Map 8: ‘Wind Energy Spatial Framework’ Dumfries and Galloway LDP2, adopted October 2019). Scotland’ the First Minister of Scotland stated ‘Our economic recovery must be a green recovery’ and ‘As part of our Furthermore, it offers excellent average wind speeds; is close to the motorway network and contains circa 40 km of commitment we will dedicate £100m over the next 5 years to a Green Jobs Fund.’ existing access tracks, has a grid connection point within close proximity (approx. 3 km); and is not located within any nationally designated areas or landscapes. Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm will operate for 40 years and will bring with it over £1.8 billion financial investment benefiting both the Scottish economy and the local economy of Dumfries and Galloway. The project also includes a The final layout of the turbines and site access tracks have been developed through an iterative design process based significant Energy Storage scheme with a minimum capacity of 250MW, which will provide real-time grid stabilisation, upon technical, planning and environmental constraints, consultation with key stakeholders and following the scoping allowing excess electricity generated by the turbines to be stored in the containerised battery units during times of consultation and EIA assessment conclusions. This has ensured that the proposal will have a minimal impact on the low energy demand, improving the flexibility and efficiency of the National Grid. The wind farm is expected to produce local environment, biodiversity and the landscape. around two terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity per annum, which will be enough electricity to power over 572,000 homes each year. Community consultation has been undertaken for the proposed wind farm. Consultation with Dumfries & Galloway Council, communities and Community Councils in the surrounding area of the wind farm proposal has taken place The proposed development will therefore make a direct and strategic contribution to achieving renewable energy during the design stage of the project and will continue throughout all stages of the development. generation targets, contributing towards the Scottish Government’s ambitious target for 2030 of generating the equivalent of 50% of heat, transport and electricity consumption from renewable sources, as well as playing an Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm is located in an area identified by Dumfries and Galloway Council Landscape study important role in the fight against climate change and Scotland’s target to reduce carbon emissions by 70% by 2030 as the only location within its Council boundaries recognised as having potential for large typology wind turbines in and Dumfries and Galloway Council’s target to be net-zero carbon by 2025. the LDP2 Spatial Framework. The proposal is a completely sustainable development, which is in line with policies in

Preface and Contents – Page iv Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm – EIA Report Preface and Contents the LDP2 and conforms to national policy. It will provide a valuable and strategic contribution towards the ambitious References national targets for electricity generation from renewables for 2030, net-zero carbon targets for 2025 and 2045 and contributes towards economic growth in Dumfries and Galloway, and Scotland as a whole. Scottish Government (2018) ‘Renewable and low carbon energy’ (Online) Available at: Approval of this development would be a positive and progressive step in the fight to tackle climate change and https://www.gov.scot/policies/renewable-and-low-carbon-energy/ [Accessed: 05/10/2020]. aiding Scotland with meeting its renewable energy and carbon emissions targets. This is imperative in tackling the Scottish Government (2020) ‘Protecting Scotland, Renewing Scotland’ (Online) Available at: Climate Emergency, and in supporting Scotland’s green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.gov.scot/news/protecting-scotland-renewing-scotland/ [Accessed: 05/10/2020].

Scottish Government (2020) ‘Report of the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery ‘Towards a robust, resilient wellbeing economy for Scotland’ (Online) Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/towards-robust-resilient- wellbeing-economy-scotland-report-advisory-group-economic-recovery/ [Accessed: 05/10/2020].

Preface and Contents – Page v Preface and Contents Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm – EIA Report

Electricity Measurements Wind Speed Conversion Table

1 kW x 1000 = 1 MW Throughout this EIAR, wind speeds are designated in metres per second (m/s). The following table allows for conversion of wind speed from m/s into miles per hour (mph), knots, the Beaufort Scale and the World Meteorological 1 MW x 1000 = 1 GW Organisation Description.

1 GW x 1000 = 1 TW 1 m/s = 2.24 mph = 1.94 knots Kilowatt (kW): Kilowatt-hour (kWh) World Meteorological Beaufort m/s mph knots Organisation Wind Turbine Status A kilowatt is a unit of power representing the rate at which energy is used or produced. One kilowatt-hour is a unit of Scale energy and represents one hour of electricity consumption at a constant rate of 1 kW. Description (1964) 1 2.2 1.9 1 Light breeze Low Wind Speed Megawatt (MW): Megawatt-hour (MWh) 2 4.5 3.9 2 Light breeze Shutdown Mode A megawatt equals 1000 kW. One megawatt-hour represents one hour of electricity consumption at a constant rate of 1 MW. 3 6.7 5.8 2 Light breeze Cut-In Wind 4 8.9 7.8 3 Gentle breeze Speed Range Gigawatt (GW): gigawatt-hour (GWh)

A gigawatt equals 1000 MW. One gigawatt-hour represents one hour of electricity consumed at a constant rate of 1 5 11.2 9.7 3 Gentle breeze GW. 6 13.4 11.7 4 Moderate breeze 7 15.7 13.6 4 Moderate breeze Terawatt (TW): terawatt-hour (TWh) 8 17.9 15.6 4 Moderate breeze One terawatt equals 1000 GW. One terawatt-hour represents one hour of electricity consumption at a constant rate 9 20.1 17.5 5 Fresh breeze of 1 TW. 10 22.4 19.4 5 Fresh breeze 11 24.6 21.4 6 Strong breeze Power Generation Wind 12 26.8 23.3 6 Strong breeze Speed Range 15 33.6 29.2 7 Near gale 17 38.0 33.0 7 Near gale

20 44.7 38.9 8 Gale

22 49.2 42.8 9 Strong gale 23 51.5 44.7 9 Strong gale 24 53.7 46.7 9 Strong gale 25 55.9 48.6 10 Storm

26 58.2 50.5 10 Storm

27 60.4 52.5 10 Storm High Wind Speed 30 67.1 58.3 11 Violent storm Shutdown Protection 40 89.5 77.8 12 Hurricane Mode 50 111.8 97.2 12 Hurricane 60 134.2 116.6 12 Hurricane

Preface and Contents – Page vi Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm – EIA Report Preface and Contents

Volume I ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT

Contents

Section 1: Introduction

Section 2: Detailed Project Description

Section 3: Site Selection and Evolution

Section 4: Planning and Policy

Section 5: Socio-Economics, Population and Community Involvement

Section 6: Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment

Section 7: Ornithology

Section 8: Ecology

Section 9: Cultural Heritage Assessment

Section 10: Hydrology, Geology and Hydrogeology

Section 11: Noise

Section 12: Transport Assessment

Section 13: Forestry

Section 14: Other Considerations

Section 15: Schedule of Mitigation

Preface and Contents – Page vii