Perspective

UK Wind Energy Wind UK The Future Wind energy trends

Wind energy projects in the UK are entering a new phase. Turbines are getting larger, capacity greater, associated infrastructure more complex, regulations more challenging, and – for offshore developments – waters deeper.

Royal HaskoningDHV has been working at the forefront of the wind industry since its inception, from early onshore wind farms and Round 1 offshore projects, to the giant offshore farms planned as part of Round 3. The UK currently leads the world in offshore wind development.

Royal HaskoningDHV has expanded and shaped its experienced renewables team to handle the demands of this fast-paced wind industry. We make our experience count, and we offer an unrivalled service covering a wealth of specialist skills. Working alongside developers, from early site prospecting through to the construction and operational phase, has equipped Royal HaskoningDHV with the knowledge to provide expert solutions for challenging issues such as consenting, transport and logistics, health and safety – and many more. We are flexible, experienced, responsive, and ready to tackle new challenges as more ground-breaking projects are taken forward.

Royal HaskoningDHV is working on onshore and offshore wind energy sites culminating in the realisation of major headline projects:

n Providing a range of consultancy support from n EIA Co-ordinator for offshore and onshore Contents project inception to completion of the Thanet elements of the first project development Offshore , currently the world’s phase of the and Firth of Forth Wind energy trends 3 largest operational wind farm; Round 3 Zones; Dealing with EIA and consents 4 n Lead Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) n To see just some of Royal HaskoningDHV’s Managing risk offshore 6 consultant for the up to 560MW Dudgeon Wind Energy achievements turn to page 16. Site assessment 8 Offshore Wind Farm, including a 45km onshore grid connection and one of Europe’s largest Grid connections 10 onshore substations; Transport & logistics 12 Dedicated wind energy team 14 Royal HaskoningDHV’s wind energy achievements 16

2 3 Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy Dealing with EIA and consents

Royal HaskoningDHV is probably best known for the work it does on Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for wind energy projects, and rightly so. To date, every offshore wind energy project for which Royal HaskoningDHV has produced the EIA has been consented first time.

Royal HaskoningDHV recognises the paramount importance of maintaining flexibility in project design and within the supply chain at the development stage. We work closely with project engineering teams to ensure that this flexibility is maintained within a robust framework of EIA. This provides assurance to regulators and stakeholders that all project permutations are assessed and that the developer understands and can mitigate the impacts that arise once the final design has been fixed, thus reducing consenting risk. In addition, Royal HaskoningDHV recognises that cumulative impacts are now a much more significant element of the consenting process. We are seeing more instances, both onshore and offshore, of multiple projects being developed in the same broad area. This brings new challenges for developers; in particular in relation to potential cumulative impacts on European designated sites.

The range of technical and support services for EIA that we provide puts us in a unique position to offer our clients a full end-to-end service, offering expert consultancy and engineering solutions for every aspect of wind energy developments. The experts in our in- house team can cover ecology, hydrogeology, coastal modelling, noise, air quality, transport, health and safety and a number of other specialist disciplines to help ensure the consenting process is as smooth as possible.

4 5 Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy Managing risk offshore

Developers are bound by the Construction Design & Management (CDM) Regulations 2007, which apply to all projects involving construction work carried out in Britain and its territorial waters. The difficulty is that this legislation has most often been applied to land-based projects, which do not always readily integrate with marine activities and maritime legislation.

The regulations therefore need to be tailored to meet the As wind farm sites are proposed ever further offshore unique challenges raised by offshore wind energy projects, developers will have to use larger vessels for installation such as: managing the risk of deep water, suitability of and to support maintenance. Royal HaskoningDHV is vessels, heavy lifting operations, competence of workforce, working at Sheringham Shoal to overcome issues associated and structural integrity of the turbines and other support with using an anchored, rather than a jacked-up vessel. structures, as well as the logistics of getting materials and Whilst anchored vessels can work in deeper waters they personnel out to the site under normal circumstances and are subject to wave and tidal motion which makes them in an emergency. more difficult to keep in position, involving the greater risks associated with frequent anchor handling. Issues such as this, and how to replace the use of divers who are currently regularly used to fine-tune installations, will become more difficult to overcome as the Round 3 wind farms start their construction phase.

The Royal HaskoningDHV team is primed to minimise and manage the risks associated with wind farm development, taking into account existing conditions and those that the industry will face with the planned Round 3 projects. We want the wind industry to be renowned as a safe environment for its workers, and we encourage best practice in this area through the use of Hazid and Hazops workshops. Hazids (Hazard Identification) workshops bring together all the primary players on a development to identify potential hazards, attribute responsibility to a person/contractor, and explore how those hazards can be mitigated. Hazops (Hazard Operation) workshops are a more process-driven exercise which looks at the implications of different scenarios. Conducting these workshops at the outset of a development is critical to establishing what the risks are and taking early steps to mitigate them.

6 7 Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy

Site assessment

Royal HaskoningDHV is drawing on its coastal and marine experience to support the offshore wind industry. Early assessment of coastal processes and seabed conditions can assist a potential development to identify a preferred site or layout, determine design parameters and assess the likely risk posed by scour, mobile seabed sediments and features such as sandwaves.

Royal HaskoningDHV has a heritage of The company uses the latest 2D and 3D over 100 years of working with maritime modelling software and data analysis techniques industries to provide metocean, geophysical for waves and tides to help developers ‘future- and geomorphological analysis of the sea proof’ their design of structures that will be bed to inform the design or assessment placed on the seabed; for example by assessing of the environmental impacts of maritime the loading conditions and how wave forces and infrastructure. tidal currents may induce processes of seabed scour which could affect foundations. In some Royal HaskoningDHV’s team uses coastal cases the seabed can alter significantly in a short modelling techniques, supported by desk-based space of time, so it is crucial that developers are analysis, and interpretation of metocean and aware of the variability to expect in the seabed geophysical surveys to understand the seabed where they plan to site an offshore wind farm. and the physical processes that drive the system. By undertaking analysis of historic maps and When it comes to foundations, as the waters charts, it is also possible to understand the where offshore wind farms are sited become longer term changes at a particular site. These deeper, new solutions need to be found. The techniques are also used to ensure that clients traditional approach of constructing support have a comprehensive assessment of Coastal structures using monopile foundations Process Impacts in their EIA. will become less viable and uneconomical. Alternative, often more complex construction methods will present more complex risk management challenges. We are tackling these issues head-on using our far-ranging technical expertise.

8 9 Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy Photograph courtesy of Vattenfall Ltd Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy Grid connections

Onshore and offshore grid connections can be substantial projects in their own right, with their own complex barriers to consent. Royal HaskoningDHV is a UK market leader in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of new onshore buried cable systems and substation infrastructure. We have recently led the EIA studies for the offshore and onshore transmission system for the Dudgeon offshore wind farm, including 45km of onshore buried cables and one of Europe’s largest substations. This experience is being carried over into Round 3, where we are providing both onshore and offshore EIA services to the first phases of Seagreen’s Firth of Forth and ’s Dogger Bank developments.

The planned Round 3 offshore wind farms will dwarf anything the UK has done before. Transmission of electricity will occur over greater distances, potentially creating a range of environmental, engineering and health and safety challenges to be overcome before construction. Our team of experts on grid connections will assess the environmental, technical and health and safety implications of burying cables in the seabed, from inter- array to export cables, inter-connecting the devices and running the main export cable back to the grid connection point onshore.

10 11 Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy Transport & logistics

One of the issues that inevitably arises when creating onshore wind farms or when transporting certain offshore wind farm components by road is ensuring safe road access to the site, especially regarding the routing of construction traffic and the abnormal loads carrying turbine components. With extended periods of construction work often necessary, it is vital that vehicles of various sizes are able to get to the site without causing undue disruption on the local road network.

Royal HaskoningDHV’s expertise in transport and logistics negotiated by long vehicles. Attention should also be given for the wind industry speaks for itself – we have never had a to the height of bridges, overhead cables and trees. You also project rejected on highway issues. have to look beyond the existing conditions, for example by finding out whether road or utility works are planned for the It’s important to consider every aspect of the route that route during the likely construction period of the wind farm. construction traffic and turbine transporters will take. This means looking at the suitability of the existing road Our team is able to advise clients on alternative turbine alignment, including whether corners and junctions can be choices if the highways infrastructure and access arrangements will not allow their first choice of turbine. Getting turbine components out of the ports that they dock in can be the first challenge, and the wealth of experience Royal HaskoningDHV has with working with, and designing, ports often comes into its own.

Picture courtesy of Andover Trailers Ltd

12 13 Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy Dedicated wind energy team

Royal HaskoningDHV’s large pan-European renewables team brings together decades of invaluable experience in the wind industry.

Alistair Davison, Royal HaskoningDHV’s Head of Renewables, leads a dedicated wind energy team of more than 30 environmental scientists, EIA practitioners, engineers and technicians, supported by leading experts working in related disciplines such as marine engineering, safety & risk management, ecology and transportation assessment.

This extensive in-house capacity and level of technical expertise equips us with the skills and knowledge to help our clients succeed in ever-challenging environments.

Alistair Davison says: “Wind energy developers want the reassurance of working with experts who can offer them solutions and practical guidance. We back up our knowledge of the wind energy industry with expertise gained from working with more mature sectors that can lend significant insights into the challenges the new, bigger wind energy projects are facing”.

We are flexible, responsive, passionate and innovative, and we have an unrivalled set of specialist skills to draw upon.

14 15 Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy Royal HaskoningDHV’s Wind Energy Achievements Royal HaskoningDHV teams are currently working on major onshore and offshore wind energy projects, including the biggest UK wind energy projects and the biggest grid connection in the UK. You may be surprised at where else you will find Royal HaskoningDHV experts.

2 1 Stornaway Onshore Wind Farm EIA 15 Tivetshall Wind Farm construction and 26 Inner Dowsing Offshore Wind Farm, 1 Client: AMEC access survey Client: Enertag UK Coastal Process and Geotechnical 2 Limekiln Onshore Wind Farm EIA 16 Kessingland Onshore Wind Farm Studies Client: Offshore Wind Client: Infinergy Planning Appraisal Client: SLP Energy Energy Ltd. 3 3 Glen Ullnish Onshore Wind Farm 17 Wear Point Onshore Wind Farm 27 Sheringham Shoal Onshore and 4 Client: Community Wind Farm Alliance Scoping EIA and Planning Application Offshore Wind Farm EIA, Environmental 4 Dorenell Onshore Wind Farm Client: Infinergy Liason CDM Coordination Client: Scira Client: Infinergy 18 West Ashton Wind Turbines EIA 28 Cromer Offshore Wind Farm, Coastal 31 5 Wind Farm feasibility studies Client: The Cornwall Light and Power Process, Geotechnical Studies and EIA Grangemouth Client: BP Company Ltd. Client: Enertrag UK Ltd. 5 6 Lambdoughty Onshore Wind Farm 19 Isle of Grain Wind Farm, Consenting 29 Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm and access study Client: Infinergy and Access Studies Client: BP Gas Onshore Grid Connection, EIA and 6 30 7 Smulgedon Wind Farm Geology and Power and Renewables Consenting Client: Dudgeon Offshore 7 8 Peat Slide Risk Assessment Client: 20 Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm Wind Ltd. Arcus Renewable Energy Consulting Extension Feasibility, EIA and 30 Dogger Bank Phase 1 Offshore Wind 8 Hawthorn Wind Farm Resubmittal Consenting Support Client: Vattenfall Farm and Grid Connection, EIA 9 Client: SLP Energy 21 Thanet Offshore Wind Farm, EIA and coordinator for Tranche A 9 Furness Onshore Wind Farm EIA Environmental Liaison Officer for Client: Forewind 29 Client: Infinergy offshore and onshore construction 31 Firth of Forth Offshore Wind Farm 26 10 West Rudham Onshore Wind Farm, works and monitoring Client: Thanet Onshore and Offshore EIA 27 28 Scoping Studies and Ecological Surveys Offshore Wind Ltd. Client: Seagreen Wind Energy Client: Enertrag UK Ltd. 22 Thanet Offshore Wind Farm Grid 32 East Anglia 3 and 4 Offshore wind 10 14 13 32 11 Chedburgh Onshore Wind Farm, Connection Client: Thanet Offshore farms, EIA, survey support and 15 Scoping Studies and Ecological Surveys Wind Ltd. consenting support. Client: East Anglia 12 16 25 Client: Enertrag UK Ltd. 23 Feasibility Studies. Offshore Wind Ltd 11 17 24 12 North Pickenham Onshore Wind Client: RWE renewables 33 Navitus Bay Windpark, Support to 20 23 21 Farm EIA 24 Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm the client’s project development and 18 19 Access Studies and Environmental Environmental Liason Officer consenting teams. Client: Navitus Bay 22 Action Plan Client: Enertrag UK Ltd. Client: Greater Gabbard Offshore Development Ltd. 33 13 Guestwick Onshore Wind Farm EIA Winds Ltd. Access Studies and Public Enquiry 25 Galloper Offshore Wind Farm EIA Client: Enertrag UK Ltd. Client: SSE Renewables & RWE npower Onshore wind farms 14 Hembsby Onshore Wind Farm renewables Client: SLP Energy Offshore wind farms

16 17 Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy To find out how Royal HaskoningDHV can bring its experience and expertise to bear on your wind energy project contact Alistair Davison on 0131 555 0506 or [email protected]

For further information about Royal HaskoningDHV, please visit our website at www.royalhaskoningdhv.com

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18 19 Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy With its headquarters in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, owned, non-listed companies and top 40 overall, the Royal HaskoningDHV is an independent, international Company’s 8,000 staff provide services across the world project management, engineering and consultancy service from more than 100 offices in over 35 countries. provider. Ranking globally in the top 10 of independently

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