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Section 1: Non-Technical Summary and Project Description Glenurquhart & Strathglass Wind Energy Project Technical Description and Environmental Studies Report OSE/2883 April 2010 Corrimony Energy Ltd and Soirbheas Ltd Final Report Glenurquhart & Strathglass Wind Energy Project March 2010 Glenurquhart & Strathglass Wind Energy Project Technical Description and Environmental Studies Report OSE/2883 Section 1 March 2010 Project Developers: Corrimony Energy Ltd and Soirbheas Ltd Project Coordination: Mike Girvan Telephone 01856 876758 Mobile 07810 180256 Email [email protected] Project Design: Richard Gauld IEng MInstMC BSc(Hons) Dip. GeoSci Dip. DesInn Orkney Sustainable Energy Ltd 6 North End Road Stromness Orkney KW16 3AG Telephone 01856 850054 Facsimile 01856 851239 Email [email protected] Richard Gauld is a professional engineer, a Member of the Institute of Measurement and Control and is registered with the Engineering Council of Great Britain. OSE/2883 1 Final Report Glenurquhart & Strathglass Wind Energy Project March 2010 Glenurquhart & Strathglass Wind Energy Project Report OSE/2883 Technical Description and Environmental Studies This report is presented in two volumes; Volume 1 contains the non-technical summary, the project description, the wind turbine technical description, an ecology assessment, reports on archaeology, transport impacts, electromagnetic Interference and theoretical noise and shadow flicker impact. Volume 2 contains the Site Drawings, Maps and Photomontage Images. Section 1 Non-technical Summary and Project Description Section 2 Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment Section 3 Ecology Section 4 Archaeology Survey Section 5 Geomorphology and Hydrology Section 6 Noise, Shadow effects, Roads and Transportation Volume 2: Site Drawings, Maps and Photomontage Images OSE/2883 2 Final Report Glenurquhart & Strathglass Wind Energy Project March 2010 Section 1 Non-Technical Summary and Project Description OSE/2883 3 Final Report Glenurquhart & Strathglass Wind Energy Project March 2010 SECTION 1 CONTENTS SUMMARY 5 1 INTRODUCTION 6 2 DEVELOPMENT DESCRIPTION 8 2.1 PROPOSED LOCATION 8 2.2 WIND ASSESSMENT 13 2.3 CARBON EMISSION AVOIDANCE 13 2.4 LAYOUT DESIGN AND ALTERNATIVE LOCATIONS 14 2.5 PROJECT DESIGN STATEMENT 15 2.6 WIND TURBINE SELECTION 16 2.7 EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION 18 2.8 TRANSPORTATION 18 2.9 ROADS AND FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION SUMMARY 19 2.10 WIND TURBINE CONSTRUCTION PROGRAMME 19 2.11 OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE 20 2.12 DECOMMISSIONING 20 3 ECONOMIC AND PLANNING ISSUES 21 3.1 LOCAL OWNERSHIP OF RENEWABLE ENERGY 21 3.2 FARM DIVERSIFICATION AND COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT 21 3.3 NATIONAL PLANNING CONTEXT 23 3.4 HIGHLAND COUNCIL STRUCTURE PLAN 24 3.5 HIGHLAND RENEWABLE ENERGY STRATEGY 25 3.6 INVERNESS AREA LOCAL PLAN 25 3.7 SOCIO -ECONOMIC BENEFITS 27 4 SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS 28 4.1 VISUAL IMPACT UPON THE LANDSCAPE 29 4.2 ECOLOGY 36 4.3 POTENTIAL DISTURBANCE TO ARCHAEOLOGY 49 4.4 IMPACT UPON GEOLOGICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL FEATURES 51 4.5 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT DURING CONSTRUCTION 54 4.6 POLLUTION IMPACT DURING CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE 55 4.7 POTENTIAL DISTURBANCE FROM NOISE 55 4.8 POTENTIAL DISTURBANCE FROM SHADOW FLICKER 57 4.9 POTENTIAL RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS INTERFERENCE 57 5 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND PROPOSED MITIGATION 58 5.1 VISUAL IMPACT MITIGATION 58 5.2 ECOLOGICAL IMPACT MITIGATION 58 5.3 POLLUTION AVOIDANCE 60 5.4 MITIGATION OF NOISE DISTURBANCE AND SHADOW FLICKER NUISANCE 60 5.5 CONSTRUCTION AND TRANSPORTATION IMPACT MITIGATION 61 6 CONCLUSIONS 62 7 REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 63 OSE/2883 4 Final Report Glenurquhart & Strathglass Wind Energy Project March 2010 Summary The Glenurquhart & Strathglass Wind Energy Project is a locally owned community windfarm being developed as a locally-owned community project, with both the land-owners and the local community working together in partnership; the project developers are Corrimony Energy Ltd and Soirbheas Ltd. The project has been co-ordinated by Mr Mike Girvan, with Orkney Sustainable Energy Ltd contracted to complete the overall design. It is proposed that five wind turbines will be installed on land at Corrimony farm, between Strathglass and Glenurquhart, south-west of Inverness. The turbine identified for the development is either the Enercon E70 or the RE-Power MM82, and although the turbine model may change, subject to availability, for the purposes of this report the MM82 has been used to show a typical machine for the development. The electricity generated will be traded to meet the requirements of the Renewables Order (Scotland) 2002. The concept of a locally owned wind energy development was initiated by the farming family at Corrimony. There has been extensive consultation, and the opinion of a range of organisations has been sought, including Highland Council Planning and Development, Historic Scotland, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. As a result of the various studies, the project has been designed around five 100m tall turbines to give a maximum output of 10MW, with the project designed to fit within the landscape. Visual impact studies have been completed, and it has been determined that the turbines present a simple, clear relationship to the landform and other existing features, and have largely Low to Moderate significance. Impact on neighbours to the development is negligible. Ecological impacts have been fully assessed, including a habitat survey, a mammal survey, a breeding bird survey, and an assessment of any protected species near the site. Assessment on the archaeology of the site and surrounding area has been completed and includes geological and hydrogeological surveys, description of the wind turbines, and extensive mapping, analysis and photomontage modelling of the development. A moderate-scaled wind energy project is feasible for this part of Glen Urquhart, with low impacts upon ecology and the local community. Strong social and economic benefits can be achieved by constructing the Glenurquhart & Strathglass project, along with the associated climate change benefits resulting from renewable energy production. OSE/2883 5 Final Report Glenurquhart & Strathglass Wind Energy Project March 2010 1 Introduction The Highlands of Scotland has the potential to become an important area for wind energy development; a number of projects have been proposed for the area, primarily as large scale windfarms on hilltop and moorland locations. The Glenurquhart & Strathglass project is an alternative to this pattern of development, and has been designed as a locally-owned cluster of wind turbines which avoids dominating the landscape, while providing strong economic benefits. Environmental, planning and social impact studies have been completed, resulting in the design and development of a five wind turbine project. The Glenurquhart and Strathglass community and the landowners at Corrimony have been leading the development, and a series of public meetings have taken place to discuss the project. The Glenurquhart & Strathglass project has been designed around the RE Power 2MW wind turbine, however the actual turbine model may alter nearer the time of construction; the site layout and all modelling has used a 59m turbine tower height and a maximum of 41m blade length. The nearest 33 kV electricity transmission line is located at Fasnakyle to the west of the development site, with underground cabling proposed throughout. The average wind speed on the Corrimony site is predicted to be around 8 metres per second (ms-1), compared with 9 ms -1 predicted at the summits of nearby hills. Based on the manufacturers predictions, five 2MW wind turbines will produce around 25 GWh of electricity per annum, equivalent to the annual requirements of 5300 households (DUKES) . Electricity produced from renewable resources avoids the emission of pollution, and the production of 25,000 MWh is projected to avert the production of around 3000 tonnes of carbon per annum (Carbon Trust). Per head of population, the Glenurquhart & Strathglass project provides a very good contribution towards the Scottish Government annual targets: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/Climate-Change/ . Section 1 of this report is the Non-Technical Summary and includes a summary of planning constraints and grid issues, Section 2 is the landscape and visual impact assessment, Section 3 is the ecology survey, Section 4 contains an assessment of archaeology impacts, Section 5 is a summary of existing landuse and geomorphology and hydrology constraints, and Section 6 includes access roads, transportation, noise and shadow effects. Volume 2 of the report contains plans, maps, wireframe images and photomontages. OSE/2883 6 Final Report Glenurquhart & Strathglass Wind Energy Project March 2010 . Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Data, Crown Copyright Reserved. License No. 0100031673 Figure 1.1 – Site location and turbine positions OSE/2883 7 Final Report Glenurquhart & Strathglass Wind Energy Project March 2010 2 Development description This part of the report identifies the site for the wind turbine development and the activities involved in delivering and constructing the wind energy project at Corrimony. The assessment includes planning constraints in the Aird and Loch Ness ward of Highland Council, a description of the site and identification of the grid connection. The aspects considered include site design, transport constraints, installation of the wind turbines, operation and maintenance of the project and eventual decommissioning
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