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Proposed Marwick Head Wave Farm Request for a Scoping Opinion December 2012

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Proposed Marwick Head Wave Farm Request for a Scoping Opinion December 2012 Proposed Marwick Head Wave Farm Request for a Scoping Opinion December 2012 This page is intentionally blank CONTENTS CONTENTS I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 1. INTRODUCTION 4 1.1. BACKGROUND 4 1.2. DOCUMENT PURPOSE 4 1.3. DOCUMENT STRUCTURE 5 2. POLICY & LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT 6 2.1. CLIMATE CHANGE 6 2.2. RENEWABLE ENERGY 6 2.3. PLANNING CONTEXT 7 2.3.1. Terrestrial Planning 7 2.3.2. Marine Planning 8 2.4. DEVELOPMENT CONTROL AND EIA 9 2.4.1. Consents and Licensing 9 2.4.2. EIA Regulations 10 2.4.3. Other Consents and Licenses 13 2.4.4. Legislation 14 3. DESCRIPTION OF THE DEVELOPMENT 15 3.1. SITE SELECTION 15 3.2. SITE LOCATION 15 3.3. NATURE OF THE PROPOSED WAVE FARM 18 3.3.1. Candidate Technology 18 3.3.2. Pelamis Wave Energy Converter 18 3.3.3. Components 18 3.3.4. Converter Spacing 19 3.3.5. Mooring 20 3.3.6. Installation Methodology 20 3.3.7. Installation Infrastructure 20 3.3.8. Monitoring Devices - Met masts / Wave buoys 21 3.3.9. Inter-Array Cabling 21 3.3.10. Export Cabling/Grid Connection 21 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ScottishPower Renewables i 3.3.11. Operations and Maintenance Strategy 21 3.3.12. Operations and Maintenance Infrastructure 22 3.3.13. Decommissioning 23 4. ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE & POTENTIAL EFFECTS 24 4.1. INTRODUCTION 24 4.1.1. Assessment Methodology 24 4.1.2. Cumulative and In-Combination Impacts 24 4.2. PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT 25 4.2.1. Marine and Coastal Processes 25 4.2.2. Geology, Seabed Sediments and Sediment Transport 26 4.2.3. Water Quality and Effluent Discharges 28 4.3. BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT 29 4.3.1. Benthic Ecology 29 4.3.2. Terrestrial Ecology 33 4.3.3. Ornithology 34 4.3.4. Marine Mammals 48 4.3.5. Fish and Shellfish 51 4.4. HUMAN ENVIRONMENT 54 4.4.1. Commercial Fisheries & Aquaculture 54 4.4.2. Maritime Navigation 55 4.4.3. Landscape and Seascape 57 4.4.4. Cultural Heritage 58 4.4.5. Noise 59 4.4.6. Socio Economics 60 4.4.7. Tourism and Recreation 61 4.4.8. Military Activity 63 4.4.9. Air and Climate 64 4.4.10. Other Human Activities 65 4.4.11. Summary of Main Potential Environmental Effects 65 4.5. MITIGATION 72 4.6. MONITORING 72 4.7. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK 72 5. DRAFT OUTLINE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT 73 5.1. PART 1: INTRODUCTION 73 5.2. PART 2: THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT 73 6. CONSULTATION STRATEGY 75 6.1. OVERVIEW 75 6.2. PROJECT APPROACH 75 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ScottishPower Renewables ii 7. SCOPING QUESTIONS 77 8. FURTHER INFORMATION 78 APPENDICIES 79 APPENDIX A SCOPING CONSULTEES 79 APPENDIX B DATA SOURCES 81 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ScottishPower Renewables iii Executive Summary ScottishPower Renewables (UK) Ltd (hereafter referred to as “SPR”) is proposing to develop a Commercial Wave Farm (hereafter referred to as the ‘Wave Farm’) west of the Orkney Mainland at Marwick Head. The Wave Farm would have a capacity of 49.5MW of renewable power for export to the grid and would contribute to meeting the Scottish Government’s targets of providing 100% equivalent of Scotland’s electricity generation from renewable sources by 2020. Pelamis Wave Power (PWP) and SPR are currently working together to develop the 750kW wave energy converter (see Figure 1). The wave device is a semi submerged wave device utilising the energy of the waves and is moored to the seabed. PWP achieved grid connection and exported power to the local grid network with the full- scale, 750kW Pelamis prototype at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in August 2004. This was the world’s first grid connected, open ocean demonstration of a deep-water wave energy converter. The Pelamis device has undergone rigorous design validation in the intervening years. With more than 2,000 hours of operation, the prototype machine successfully demonstrated the Pelamis concept at full-scale, as well as generating continuous power into the grid, as expected and predicted by simulation models of experienced sea states and imposed control settings. Figure 1: SPRs Pelamis P2 Wave Energy Converter under test in Orkney In 2005, PWP secured the world’s first commercial supply contract for wave energy converters, when a Portuguese utility placed an order for three Pelamis 750kW units to be installed off the coast of Northern Portugal. Under challenging conditions, PWP completed the installation of moorings and offshore electrical infrastructure, as well as the local final assembly and commissioning of machines before successfully exporting power to the Portuguese grid in July 2008. The company grid connected the array shortly thereafter, and ScottishPower Renewables 1 has demonstrated standard maintenance operations and activities for supporting multiple machine arrays, with minimal infrastructure requirements. Once testing of the full-scale demonstration P2 wave energy converter and any required refinements to the design are complete it is proposed that the Wave Farm will be deployed in Orkney, subject to the required Consents and Licenses being obtained. SPR have secured exclusive rights to the development of a site to the west of the Orkney Mainland at Marwick Head. The Wave Farm would consist of 66*750kW Pelamis P2 wave energy converters within the area shown in Figure 22. Figure 2: Marwick Head – Site Location In addition to the wave devices, there will be associated onshore/offshore infrastructure including subsea and landfall cable, control building, substation and onshore access. The location for the onshore substation will be subject to final confirmation once local planning constraints and the locational requirements of the grid operator are ascertained. The substation site may also include the array control room. If it is possible to integrate the control room within a compound planned as part of local grid infrastructure upgrades, then this will be considered to minimise any local visual impact. SPR will, in due course, submit a Section 36 and accompanying Environmental Statement to the Scottish Government for the development and a local planning application for the onshore elements. The development will also require a Licence under Section 21 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (“Marine licence”), from Scottish Government (Marine Scotland). This report forms SPR’s written request to the Scottish Government (Marine Scotland), under Regulation 7 of the Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2000, for its opinion as to the information to be provided in the Environmental Statement (a ‘Scoping Opinion’). ScottishPower Renewables 2 The Environmental Statement (ES) that will be produced for this project will support the applications for consent for offshore works, under the following legislation: Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989; Section 21 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010; and a local planning application in regard to the onshore aspects of the development. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process that includes the identification of the potential environmental effects of a development and then seeks to avoid, reduce or offset any adverse effects through mitigation measures. The purpose of this report is to set out the details of the proposed development, the site and the surrounding area, the potential effects of the development and the approach currently considered appropriate for the EIA to assist in the formal scoping process. This report describes the baseline environment, and lists aspects of the environment that have the potential to be affected by the proposed development. Although the layout and design are still developing and evolving, an understanding of the construction and operational parameters of the Wave Farm along with knowledge of the baseline environment of the site enables the possible effects of the development to be identified. The report also outlines the proposed approach and methodology to be adopted for certain studies that will require to be undertaken for the EIA. The findings of this Scoping Report in conjunction with the Scoping Response received from Scottish Government (Marine Scotland) and other consultees will be used to inform the EIA. The list of consultees to be consulted is presented in Appendix A. By conducting this exercise as early as possible, the overall project planning and design can take account of any alterations or measures that will act to resolve potential issues and minimise possible effects of the proposed development. ScottishPower Renewables 3 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. BACKGROUND 1.1.1 ScottishPower Renewable Energy Limited, the parent company of ScottishPower Renewables (UK) Limited (SPR), is a wholly owned subsidiary of ScottishPower UK plc. 1.1.2 SPR is a leading UK onshore windfarm operator, managing operational windfarms in Britain with an installed capacity of >1,000MW. 1.1.3 Under the Renewables Obligation, SPR is implementing an ambitious growth programme in renewable energy, specifically wind energy. 1.1.4 SPR is also working towards becoming market leader in the emerging marine renewables sector. 1.1.5 SPR is currently involved in the development and deployment of a 750kW Pelamis P2 wave energy converter. The first Pelamis P2 purchased by SPR was initially deployed for pre-commercial testing at the Billia Croo wave facility, EMEC, in May 2012. The deployment of this device has already been given consent. 1.1.6 Knowledge gained from the installation and operation of this demonstration Pelamis P2 deployment will be used in the installation of the Marwick Head Wave Farm to the west of the Orkney Mainland. 1.1.7 It is proposed that the Wave Farm will consist of 66 Pelamis P2 wave energy converters and will be one of the first Commercial Wave Farms. 1.1.8 The Wave Farm will be 49.5MW and consent to construct and operate the Wave Farm will therefore be required under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 from the Scottish Government (Marine Scotland).
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