Argyll and Bute Council Planning Protective Services & Licensing Committee Development & Infrastructure Services 19 th March 2014 _________________________________________________________________________ Reference No: 14/00527/S36 Proposal: Proposed Tidal Generator – Consultation under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 Site Address: Argyll Tidal Demonstrator Project North Channel, west of the Mull of Kintyre _________________________________________________________________________ A. SUMMARY This is a consultation from Marine Scotland in respect of an application for a Marine Licence under Part 4 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 to deploy and operate a tidal energy generator with the installation of an export cable. The report recommends views to be conveyed to Marine Scotland on behalf of the Council as Planning Authority. B. DETAILS OF THE PROPOSAL This project relates to an Agreement for Lease concluded by a prospective developer with the Crown Estate in respect of a proposed tidal energy site approximately 800m off the west coast of the Mull of Kintyre. The extent of the development site relates back to the ‘area of search’ approach to the leasing process, whereas the proposed infrastructure will only occupy a small fraction of this area. The development was originally conceived as a 3MW scheme which would have entailed the installation of 6 No. 500kw tidal generators. That original proposal was screened by the Scottish Government who determined that an Environmental Impact Assessment would be required to accompany an application for consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 along with an accompanying Marine Licence application. In the event, the prospective developers have scaled back the project to a single demonstration device and the Scottish Government has confirmed that as a consequence in the reduction in scale of the project to less than 1MW, a Section 36 application and environmental assessment will not be required. The marine elements of the project will therefore now require to be consented by means of a Marine Licence under Part 4 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. Such an application has been submitted to Marine Scotland who have consulted the Council, along with other consultees, as part of their consideration of the proposal. The project consists of the proposed installation of one 0.5MW Tidal Energy Generator including an export cable to a landfall on the Mull of Kintyre. The location has been selected for its tidal resource, its lack of environmental designations, and proximity to a suitable cable landing point and areas of electricity demand. The intention is to secure the demonstrator generator by means of a three pin moored foundation rather than a fixed foundation, as water depth and resource levels off Kintyre lend themselves to this means of deployment. The generator comprises a device with contra-rotating blades, based on a scaled-down prototype previously deployed in the Sound of Islay and elsewhere outwith Argyll. The horizontal axis to the nacelle would be positioned around 23m below the surface and the closest part of the equipment to the surface (a stabilising hydrofoil) would be at about 10 metres depth. The mooring equipment and generator will be deployed from Campbeltown harbour and it is anticipated that this will also be the maintenance point. The Crown Estate lease would be for a 7 year period but the device has a 20 year design life, so there is both possibility of this being extended and the device being replaced in the longer- term. C. POLICY CONTEXT Consultation on the draft of Scotland’s first ‘National Marine Plan’ has closed and it is expected to be adopted later this year. This seeks to support the sustainable development of wind, wave and tidal renewable energy, to facilitate joined-up marine planning and licencing processes, to contribute to national renewable energy targets, and to facilitate the development of offshore demonstration facilities. Marine Scotland published ‘Further Scottish Leasing Round - Regional Locational Guidance’ in 2010. The assessment of the Mull-of-Kintyre suggested that the main restrictions on development were likely to be related to MoD and shipping interests but otherwise described the site as having “relatively few environmental interests”. The Argyll and Bute Renewable Energy Action Plan (REAP) – Powering Scotland’s Future sets out a vision that “Argyll and Bute will be at the heart of renewable energy development in Scotland by taking full advantage of its unique and significant mix of indigenous renewable resources and maximising the opportunities for sustainable economic growth for the benefit of its communities and Scotland”. The Argyll and Bute Economic Action Development Plan (EDAP) 2010 – 2013 recognises the potential in as yet untapped sources of renewable energy to create higher value jobs and incomes, to attract private and public inward investment, to result in sustainable economic benefits in more peripheral, remote and fragile communities, to generate community benefit funds that promote local development, and economic benefits to businesses and households through generation and consumption of renewable energy. The EDAP also recognises that tourism and the food and drink industry are of vital importance to the economy of Argyll and Bute and stresses the requirement to find a balance between the competing needs of sustainable economic assets. The provisions of policy STRAT RE 2 in the ‘Argyll and Bute Structure Plan’ 2002 and policy LP REN 3 of the ‘Argyll and Bute Local Plan’ 2009 set out general support for other (non-wind) forms of renewable energy and related development. Support is expressed for forms, scales and locations where it will promote the aim of sustainable development, where the servicing, electricity distribution and access impacts are acceptable, and all other material considerations including the Council’s international and national obligations are satisfactorily addressed. The site does not lie within, or adjacent to, any nature conservation, historic environment or landscape designations. The provisions of STRAT DC 7 in the Structure Plan and policies LP ENV 1 – 6 set out the Council’s position in respect to nature conservation and the protection of habitats and species. In summary, these set out a general presumption against development which would be likely to have a significant adverse impact upon nature conservation interests. D. POTENTIAL IMPACTS An Environmental Appraisal accompanying the application has concluded: • Localised effects upon the existing wave and tidal resource will be negligible; • Effects on water and air quality with identified mitigation will be negligible; • The absence of seabed habitat of likely conservation importance and Priority Marine Features is such that impacts on benthic ecology will be negligible; • The site has a low abundance of marine mammals (seals/cetaceans). Whilst there is potential for collisions, noise and electromagnetic disturbance, turbidity and pollution during both the construction and operational phases, with identified mitigation, residual effects are assessed to be negligible. Basking shark do not appear to routinely frequent this area and impacts on this species are also considered negligible. (As determining authority, Marine Scotland will consider whether a Habitats Regulations ‘appropriate assessment’ is necessary in respect of protected species); • Effects on fish and shellfish are assessed as negligible; • The range of species and incidence of marine birds is high in this area so implications form construction and operation have been rigorously assessed, with effects on all identified species being classified as negligible; • There are no identified offshore cultural heritage assets; • As the device and associated infrastructure is fully submerged, there will be no visual effects associated with the marine works, other than the requirement for a marker buoy. (The visual and landscape implications of the terrestrial development will be assessed separately as part of the associated planning application); • Effects on marine traffic are considered negligible, other than in the event of a mooring system failure. Whilst fishing vessels transit between Campbeltown and Gigha, fishing activity in the locality of the site is limited. (Implications for navigation will be assessed by Marine Scotland in consultation with the Northern Lighthouse Board, and interested organisations such as the RYA and the Clyde Fishermen’s Association, as part of the Licence process). As the proposed device is submerged and relatively small scale its implications for the marine environment are limited. Impacts arising from construction will only be short-term and with identified mitigation measures in place will not give rise to significant effects. Operationally, the presence and the functioning of the device has the potential for some interaction with nature conservation interests. Scottish Natural Heritage has been consulted separately by Marine Scotland and has not identified residual impacts of significance after mitigation upon protected habitats or species, or on other interests of conservation importance. E. MULTIPLE CONSENT REGIME A particular complication with this development as a whole is that it is subject to a multi-consent process comprising a Marine Licence application to Marine Scotland for the marine works, a planning application to the Council for the associated terrestrial works and an Electricity Act application to the Scottish Government for works