Troston Loch Wind Farm Volume 4 – EIA Report Non-Technical Summary February 2019
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Troston Loch Wind Farm Volume 4 – EIA Report Non-Technical Summary February 2019 TROSTON LOCH WIND FARM ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY FEBRUARY 2019 EDF RENEWABLES Prepared By: Arcus Consultancy Services 7th Floor 144 West George Street Glasgow G2 2HG T +44 (0)141 221 9997 l E [email protected] w www.arcusconsulting.co.uk Registered in England & Wales No. 5644976 Non-Technical Summary Troston Loch Wind Farm TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ............................................................................................................................... 1 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 2 2 THE APPLICANT ......................................................................................................... 3 3 EIA PROCESS AND METHODOLOGY .......................................................................... 3 4 CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES & DESIGN EVOLUTION .................................. 4 5 SITE AND SURROUNDS ............................................................................................. 5 6 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................ 6 7 PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT .................................................................................... 9 8 LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ...................................................... 9 9 ECOLOGY ................................................................................................................. 12 10 ORNITHOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 13 11 GEOLOGY, HYDROLOGY AND HYDROGEOLOGY ...................................................... 14 12 ARCHAEOLOGY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE ............................................................ 14 13 NOISE ...................................................................................................................... 15 14 ACCESS, TRANSPORT AND TRAFFIC ....................................................................... 16 15 FORESTRY ............................................................................................................... 17 16 LAND-USE, RECREATION AND SOCIOECONOMICS ................................................. 18 17 CLIMATE CHANGE AND CARBON BALANCE ............................................................. 20 18 OTHER ISSUES ........................................................................................................ 21 19 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................ 22 EDF Renewables Arcus Consultancy Services February 2019 Page i Non-Technical Summary Troston Loch Wind Farm PREFACE This Non-Technical Summary (NTS) summarises the findings of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIA Report) that has been undertaken on behalf of EDF Renewables Limited (the Applicant) to accompany the Section 36 application for the construction and operation of Troston Loch Wind Farm (the Development). The EIA Report comprises of the following documents: • Volume 1 – EIA Report Text; • Volume 2 – EIA Report Figures; • Volume 2a – Figures excluding LVIA; • Volume 2b – LVIA Plan Figures; • Volume 2c – LVIA Visuals Part 1 of 2; • Volume 2d – LVIA Visual Part 2 of 2; • Volume 3 – EIA Report Technical Appendices; and • Volume 4 – EIA Report Non-Technical Summary. In addition to the above, the EIA Report is accompanied by a Planning Statement and Pre-Application Consultation Report. The EIA Report and supporting documentation is available on the Troston Loch Wind Farm project website: www.edf-re.uk/our-sites/troston In addition copies of the EIA Report will be made available for public inspection during the consultation period at the following locations during normal opening hours: • Scottish Government Library at Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ; • Dumfries and Galloway Council, Council Headquarters, English Street, Dumfries, DG1 2DD; and • Dalry Library, 81 Main St, St John's Town of Dalry, Castle Douglas DG7 3UP. Copies of the Non-Technical Summary and DVD copies of the complete application submission are available free of charge while stocks last. Hard copies of the application submission may be obtained at a reasonable charge reflecting the cost of making the relevant information available. To request a copy of the application submission please contact: EDF Renewables or Arcus Consultancy Services [email protected] [email protected] EDF Renewables Arcus Consultancy Services Alexander House 7th Floor 1 Mandarin Road 144 West George Street Rainton Bridge Business Glasgow Park G2 2HG Sunderland DH4 5RA EDF Renewables Arcus Consultancy Services February 2019 Page 1 Non-Technical Summary Troston Loch Wind Farm 1 INTRODUCTION This Non-Technical Summary (NTS) summarises the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIA Report) which accompanies an application to the Scottish Government for consent pursuant to Section 36 of the Electricity Act 19891 to install and operate a wind farm comprising of up to 14 wind turbines, with a generation capacity exceeding 50 megawatts (MW) and associated infrastructure, at a site within Dumfries and Galloway for a period of 30 years (the Development). In addition, the Applicant is also seeking a Direction from the Scottish Ministers for planning permission to be deemed to be granted under Section 57(2) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, as amended. Given that the Development is expected to exceed 50 MW and is classed as a Section 36 application, the EIA will be undertaken in accordance with the Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 20172 referred to as the EIA Regulations. Moniaive is the closest settlement to the Development at 7 kilometres (km) to the east, while St John’s Town of Dalry is 8 km south west and Carsphairn is approximately 11 km to the west as shown on Figure 1. Figure 1 Site Location Reproduced from Ordnance Survey digital map data © Crown copyright 2019. All rights reserved. License number 100048606 1 UK Government, 1989, Electricity Act 1989 [Online] Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/29/contents (Accessed 21/11/2018) 2 The Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2017/101/contents/made (Accessed 21/11/2018) Arcus Consultancy Services EDF Renewables Page 2 February 2019 Non-Technical Summary Troston Loch Wind Farm 2 THE APPLICANT The Applicant is EDF Renewables Limited. EDF Renewables Limited is the trading name of EDF Energy Renewables Limited, a renewable energy company jointly owned by EDF Energy plc (EDF Energy) and EDF Energies Nouvelles (EDF EN). EDF Renewables Limited is the main vehicle for developing, constructing and operating wind farm projects within the UK on behalf of EDF EN and EDF Energy, and has a combined UK renewable energy portfolio of 957 MW of installed capacity (as of the end of 2018) plus a large portfolio of projects in development. EDF Energy is one of the largest energy companies in the UK, supplying around 6 million residential and business accounts with electricity and/or gas and producing around one-fifth (20%) of the nation’s electricity. 3 EIA PROCESS AND METHODOLOGY Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is the process undertaken to identify and evaluate the likely significant effects of a proposed development on the environment and to identify measures to mitigate or manage any significant adverse effects. The assessment must be carried out following consultation with statutory consultees, other interested bodies and members of the public. The purpose of identifying significant effects is to ensure decision makers are able to make an informed judgement on a proposal. Where one or more significant effects are identified, it does not automatically follow that a proposal should be refused. This EIA Report has been prepared following a systematic approach to EIA and project design. The process of identifying environmental effects is both iterative and cyclical, running in tandem with the iterative design process. The key elements in EIA are: • Scoping and ongoing consultation, including consideration of responses and how these should be addressed; • Technical environmental assessments, including baseline studies, input to the design process and identification of potential significant environmental effects; • Preparation of the EIA Report; and • Submission of the Section 36 application and EIA Report, including publicity of the submitted EIA findings. The aim of the scoping process is to identify key environmental issues at an early stage, to determine which elements of the Development are likely to result in significant effects on the environment and to establish the extent of survey and assessment required for the EIA. A Scoping Request for the Development was made to Scottish Ministers in July 2017, which described the Development and its potential environmental effects. A number of statutory and non-statutory consultees responded to the scoping request which in turn informed the EIA process. Public Exhibitions were held in April and October 2018, taking place in the settlements of Moniaive and St John’s Town of Dalry. These events provided the opportunity to speak with representatives of the Applicant and their specialist consultants, learn about the Development and