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 () Act 2010

Site Address: Tidal Demonstrator Project North Channel, west of the Mull of ______

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 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 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 required to secure a grid connection. There is no prescribed order in which such consents must be sought and given the lack of a requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment in this case, it is not a requirement that the applications must be assessed simultaneously in order satisfy European Commission guidance.

Convertor and transformer equipment cannot be accommodated within the nacelle of the unit so this requires to be established on land. An application for planning permission (13/02924/PP) has recently been submitted separately to the Council for the terrestrial elements of the proposal, which are to comprise an electrical equipment compound, underground cabling to connect with an existing 11kv overhead line and upgrading of an access track to the south of the Mull of Kintyre Lighthouse. The compound is to accommodate equipment in the form of transformers and control equipment. Given the prevalence of sea cliffs in this locality its location has been dictated by the need to be able to secure a practicable cable landfall. Whilst the merits of application will be assessed separately as part of the planning application process, the selected site lies within the ‘very sensitive countryside’ development control zone and the South Kintyre Area of Panoramic Quality, where development opportunities are very restricted in policy terms and where the rugged and scenic coast is of particular landscape value. Accordingly, the appropriate siting of terrestrial infrastructure to support the operation of the device will be key consideration in the acceptability of the project as a whole, so ought not to be regarded simply as an ancillary element which would necessarily follow in the event of consent being given for the marine components of the scheme.

Whilst it has been concluded in Section E above that the marine works which are the subject of this consultation do not warrant any objection from the Council, there is inevitably concern where elements of a proposal are inextricably linked, that the granting of consent for one element will lend weight to the project as a whole and add pressure to determine any subsequent application favourably. In this case, given the sensitivities of the Mull of Kintyre coast, it would be undesirable for a Marine Licence to be granted until such time as an appropriate solution for the necessary terrestrial works has been identified and consented.

Whilst the Council should express support in principle for the development of experimental marine renewables, and confirm that it is content with the particular marine works proposed, the granting of a Marine Licence ought not to take place in advance of the favourable determination of a planning application for the onshore elements of the scheme and any associated Electricity Act cable connection, as to do so could lead to a situation where the implementation of a project ostensibly progressing favourably, could potentially be frustrated by an inability to secure consents for key components of the scheme.

F. RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that:

a) no objection be raised to the principle of the project as a whole or the details of the marine component of the scheme;

b) objection be raised to the issuing of a Marine Licence until such time as an appropriate solution for the terrestrial works has been identified and any necessary consents have been obtained from Council as Planning Authority and the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit;

c) Marine Scotland be notified accordingly.

Author of Report: Richard Kerr Date: 5th March 2013

Angus Gilmour Head of Planning and Regulatory Services