DOCSLIB.ORG

Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd Developing Wind Energy in the Outer Moray Firth

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd Developing Wind Energy in the Outer Moray Firth moray offshore renewables ltd Developing Wind Energy In The Outer Moray Firth Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Report Eastern Development Area Offshore Wind Farm Infrastructure: Offshore Wind Turbines, Substations & Interarray Cables. Moray Offshore Renewables Limited Copyright © 2010 Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd All pre-existing rights reserved. Liability In preparation of this document Moray Offshore Renewables Limited has made reasonable efforts to ensure that the content is accurate, up to date and complete for the purpose for which it was contracted. Moray Offshore Renewables Limited makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of material supplied by the client or their agent. Other than any liability on Moray Offshore Renewables Limited detailed in the contracts between the parties for this work Moray Offshore Renewables Limited shall have no liability for any loss, damage, injury, claim, expense, cost or other consequence arising as a result of use or reliance upon any information contained in or omitted from this document. Any persons intending to use this document should satisfy themselves as to its applicability for their intended purpose. The user of this document has the obligation to employ safe working practices for any activities referred to and to adopt specific practices appropriate to local conditions. ii Executive Summary EDP Renováveis (EDP) and SeaEnergy Renewables Limited (SERL) have formed the partnership Moray Offshore Renewables Limited (MORL), which on 8th January 2010 was awarded a Zone Development Agreement by The Crown Estate to develop zone 1 of the nine UK Round 3 offshore zones. Zone 1 is located in the outer Moray Firth, within the UK Renewable Energy Zone (REZ). Through the zone appraisal process MORL has produced the zone development strategy which determines the phasing by which areas within the zone will be developed and consented. As a result of this review MORL has prioritised the eastern section of the zone as the focus for the first stage of development. Investigations into the potential for development of the western section of the zone are in progress and are anticipated to be concluded in 2012. The Environmental Impact Assessment process for the Western Development Area is anticipated to commence in 2013. MORL propose to develop up to 1.14GW of offshore wind within the eastern development area of the zone. The wind farm development area covers approximately 296 km2 and is located approximately 22 km to the nearest coastline which is east of the Highlands coastline in Scotland. It is anticipated to consist of approximately 200 turbines and have a potential generation capacity of 1- 1.14GW. The proposed development area was identified following a study of the defined spatial constraints within the zone. This scoping report has two purposes: 1. To gather further information on constraints to siting wind farms and assist identify sites within the development area; and 2. To seek the opinion of statutory and non-statutory consultees on the scope of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) which will be submitted to support the application for the consents required for the construction and operation of wind farms in the development area. It should be noted that this scoping report only covers the wind turbines, substations and inter-array cables. Although MORL expects to consent the Offshore Transmission Operator (OFTO) infrastructure (i.e. OFTO offshore substation, offshore export cable, onshore export cable and onshore substation), these are not discussed in detail within this scoping report. A separate scoping report will be prepared for these offshore and onshore works at a later date when more details of the cable routes and onshore substation location are known. The turbines within the eastern development area will contribute to the Scottish Government’s target of generating 50% of Scottish electricity demand from renewable sources by 2020. The project will offset the emission of greenhouse gases, in line with the UK’s commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. This scoping report presents detail regarding the baseline environment in and around the proposed development area. This report also identifies potential impacts that may arise as a result of this development, directly, cumulatively with other offshore wind farms and in combination with other developments. Studies and surveys are proposed in order to inform the EIA process and preliminary discussion on potential mitigation and monitoring measures is included. iii Moray Offshore Renewables Limited Acknowledgements Moray Offshore Renewables Limited would like to thank the following people/organisations for their assistance and contributions to the preparation of this scoping report: ABP Marine Environment Research Limited Anatec Ltd Brown & May Marine Limited Malcolm Spaven Natural Power Prof. Paul Thomson, University of Aberdeen RPS Senergy – Survey and Geoengineering iv Moray Offshore Renewables Limited Contents 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 The Developers 4 1.1.1 Moray Offshore Renewables Limited (MORL) 4 1.1.2 EDP Renováveis 4 1.1.3 SeaEnergy Renewables Ltd 5 1.2 National Policy and Offshore Wind Development 5 1.3 The Round 3 process 5 1.3.1 Strategic Environmental Assessment 6 1.4 Regulatory and Policy Background 7 1.5 OFTO Process 9 2 Project Description .................................................................................................................... 10 2.1 Objectives of the development 10 2.2 Clean Energy Generation / Electricity Supply 10 2.3 Development Area Location 10 2.4 Site Selection 10 2.5 The Proposed Scheme 11 2.5.1 Timeline 11 2.5.2 Offshore Wind Turbines 13 2.5.3 Offshore Wind Farm Infrastructure 13 2.5.4 Offshore Transmission Infrastructure 15 2.5.5 Meteorological Masts and Other Monitoring Equipment 16 2.6 Wind Farm Construction 17 2.6.1 Environmental Management 17 2.6.2 Construction 17 2.7 Wind Farm Operation 18 2.7.1 Access to Sites 18 2.7.2 Lighting and Marking 18 2.7.3 Wind Farm Control 19 2.7.4 Wind Farm Inspection and Maintenance 19 2.8 Operation Management (Environmental) 20 2.9 Wind Farm Decommissioning 20 2.10 Ports & Harbours 20 3 Cumulative and In-combination Impacts ................................................................................... 21 4 Consultation .............................................................................................................................. 22 4.1 Relationships and Stakeholder Engagement 22 5 Preliminary Environmental Considerations ............................................................................... 23 5.1 Physical Environment 23 5.1.1 Data Sources 23 v Moray Offshore Renewables Limited 5.1.2 Physical Environment 24 5.1.3 Data Gaps 32 5.1.4 Environmental Impact Scoping 33 5.2 Biological Environment 42 5.2.2 Benthic Ecology 43 5.2.3 Fish and Shellfish Ecology 52 5.2.4 Marine Mammals 61 5.2.5 Ornithology 70 5.2.6 Designated Sites 83 5.3 Human Environment 94 5.3.2 Commercial Fisheries 96 5.3.3 Shipping & Navigation 100 5.3.4 Civil Aviation 107 5.3.5 Ministry of Defence 109 5.3.6 Telecommunications 112 5.3.7 Marine Waste Disposal, Dumping and Dredging 112 5.3.8 Offshore Oil and Gas 113 5.3.9 Subsea Cables and Pipelines 115 5.3.10 Seascape, Landscape and Visual Receptors 117 5.3.11 Archaeology and Cultural Heritage 124 5.3.12 Socio-economics 129 5.3.13 Offshore Wind Farms 132 5.4 Structure of EIA 134 6 References .............................................................................................................................. 135 vi Moray Offshore Renewables Limited Figures Figure 1-1: Round 3 zones (Moray Firth zone highlighted in red) 2 Figure 1-2: Location of the eastern and western development areas for offshore wind turbines. Please note that OFTO infrastructure is not included on this figure as the grid connection has yet to be agreed 3 Figure 2-1: Illustrative timescale for the development 12 Figure 5-1: Bathymetry of the proposed development area. 25 Figure 5-2: Annual and Seasonal Wind Rose Data for the Moray Firth 28 Figure 5-3: Geophysical survey transect lines 38 Figure-5-4: Deployment Locations of Metocean Survey Equipment in the Zone. 40 Figure 5-5: Spawning grounds in the outer Moray Firth. 53 Figure 5-6: Nursery grounds in the outer Moray Firth. 54 Figure 5-7: Illustration of boat survey transects and buffer zone 81 Figure 5-8: Location of coastal SPAs, SACs, seal haul out sites and frequency of marine mammal observations. 84 Figure 5-9: Detailed plots of AIS tracks by ship type (June 2010, excluding survey vessel) 100 Figure 5-10: Overview of navigation related recreational activity relative to Moray Firth Round 3 Zone 103 Figure 5-11 Navigational Risk Assessment methodology. 105 Figure 5-12: Ministry of Defence practice areas in the outer Moray Firth. 110 Figure 5-13: Oil infrastructure within the outer Moray Firth 114 Figure 5-14: Zone of Theoretical Visibility with seascape impact boundaries. 120 Figure 5-15: Underwater wrecks and recreational sailing routes within the outer Moray Firth. 126 vii Moray Offshore Renewables Limited Tables Table 1-1: Round 3 zone allocations. Source: The Crown Estate website. ............................................. 6 Table 5-1: Summary of Soil Deposits .................................................................................................... 26 Table-5-2: Hydrodynamic conditions expected across the proposed
Load more

Recommended publications
  • RSPB Scotland
    RSPB Scotland Letter Writing Briefing Last Chance for Scotland’s Seabirds Our seabirds are the fastest declining group of bird species globally. In Scotland, coastal cliff-tops that were once immense seabird 'cities' have been left like eerily silent ghost towns. The problem will continue to worsen unless the Scottish Government takes action now. The Government is proposing 33 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that will protect some of Scotland’s most amazing marine wildlife, but unfortunately they ignore those most in need of protection - Scotland’s seabirds. MPAs have been proposed in different locations around Scotland’s coast and out at sea. These areas will protect important species and habitats from marine activities that could harm them. MPAs will do a lot to help Scotland’s seas, and the many creatures within them, but unfortunately, they will do nothing for the majority of Scotland’s seabirds. The Scottish Government argue that seabirds are already adequately protected, but this is not the case. We have seen terrible declines in many seabird populations over the last ten years and scientists predict that we could see seabirds go extinct from some parts of the country within the next ten years. We need MPAs that protect areas of national importance for our iconic seabirds, not just areas of European importance, which is currently the case. The proposals for MPAs must be improved. The Scottish Government must designate all the proposed MPAs but also add seabirds to the list of species to be protected. In addition, the Firth of Forth Banks Complex proposed MPA must have sandeels added to the list of species to be protected.
    [Show full text]
  • Appendix 6.1: List of Cumulative Projects
    Appendix 6.1 Long list of cumulative projects considered within the EIA Report GoBe Consultants Ltd. March 2018 List of Cumulative Appendix 6.1 Projects 1 Firth of Forth and Tay Offshore Wind Farms Inch Cape Offshore Wind (as described in the decision notices of Scottish Ministers dated 10th October 2014 and plans referred to therein and as proposed in the Scoping Report submitted to MS-LOT in May 2017) The consented project will consist of up to 110 wind turbines and generating up to 784 MW situated East of the Angus Coast in the outer Forth and Tay. It is being developed by Inch Cape Offshore Windfarm Ltd (ICOL). This project was consented in 2014, but was subject to Judicial Review proceedings (see section 1.4.1.1 of the EIA Report for full details) which resulted in significant delays. Subsequently ICOL requested a Scoping Opinion for a new application comprising of 75 turbines with a generating capacity of 784 MW. Project details can be accessed at: http://www.inchcapewind.com/home Seagreen Alpha and Bravo (as described in the decision notices of Scottish Ministers dated 10th October 2014 and plans referred to therein and as Proposed in the Scoping Report submitted to MS-LOT in May 2017) The consents for this project includes two offshore wind farms, being developed by Seagreen Wind Energy Limited (SWEL), each consisting of up to 75 wind turbines and generating up to 525 MW. This project was consented in 2014, but was subject to Judicial Review proceedings (see section 1.4.1.1 of the EIA Report for full details) which resulted in significant delays.
    [Show full text]
  • Caithness and Sutherland Proposed Local Development Plan Committee Version November, 2015
    Caithness and Sutherland Proposed Local Development Plan Committee Version November, 2015 Proposed CaSPlan The Highland Council Foreword Foreword Foreword to be added after PDI committee meeting The Highland Council Proposed CaSPlan About this Proposed Plan About this Proposed Plan The Caithness and Sutherland Local Development Plan (CaSPlan) is the second of three new area local development plans that, along with the Highland-wide Local Development Plan (HwLDP) and Supplementary Guidance, will form the Highland Council’s Development Plan that guides future development in Highland. The Plan covers the area shown on the Strategy Map on page 3). CaSPlan focuses on where development should and should not occur in the Caithness and Sutherland area over the next 10-20 years. Along the north coast the Pilot Marine Spatial Plan for the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters will also influence what happens in the area. This Proposed Plan is the third stage in the plan preparation process. It has been approved by the Council as its settled view on where and how growth should be delivered in Caithness and Sutherland. However, it is a consultation document which means you can tell us what you think about it. It will be of particular interest to people who live, work or invest in the Caithness and Sutherland area. In preparing this Proposed Plan, the Highland Council have held various consultations. These included the development of a North Highland Onshore Vision to support growth of the marine renewables sector, Charrettes in Wick and Thurso to prepare whole-town visions and a Call for Sites and Ideas, all followed by a Main Issues Report and Additional Sites and Issues consultation.
    [Show full text]
  • Caithness and Sutherland Local Development Plan Report by Director of Development and Infrastructure
    1 The Highland Council Agenda 9. Item Sutherland County Committee Report CC/ Caithness Committee No 16/16 30 August 2016 31 August 2016 Caithness and Sutherland Local Development Plan Report by Director of Development and Infrastructure Summary This report presents a summary of issues raised in comments received on the Proposed Caithness and Sutherland Local Development Plan (CaSPlan) and seeks approval for the Council’s response to these issues and next steps. In accordance with the Council’s Scheme of Delegation, the two Local Committees are asked to consider the report and decide on these matters. The recommended Council position is to defend the Proposed Plan, subject to only minor modifications, which would mean that the next stage would be submission to Ministers and progression to Examination. Other options would involve further consultation on a Modified Plan. The report explains the implications of each way forward. 1. Background 1.1 The Caithness and Sutherland Local Development Plan (CaSPlan) is the second of three area local development plans to be prepared by the Highland Council. Together with the Highland-wide Local Development Plan (HwLDP) and more detailed Supplementary Guidance, CaSPlan will form part of the Council’s Development Plan against which planning decisions will be made in the Caithness and Sutherland area. 1.2 The Proposed Plan consultation for CaSPlan ran from 22 January to 18 March 2016. Around 201 organisations or individuals responded, raising around 636 comments. This includes a few comments received on the associated Proposed Action Programme. All these comments have been published on the development plans consultation portal consult.highland.gov.uk.
    [Show full text]
  • Related Black Guillemot Surveys 2014
    Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 792 Marine Protected Area - related black guillemot surveys 2014 COMMISSIONED REPORT Commissioned Report No. 792 Marine Protected Area - related black guillemot surveys 2014 For further information on this report please contact: Laura Steel Scottish Natural Heritage Great Glen House INVERNESS IV3 8NW Telephone: 01463 725236 E-mail: [email protected] This report should be quoted as: Swann, R. 2014. Marine Protected Area – related black guillemot surveys 2014. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 792. This report, or any part of it, should not be reproduced without the permission of Scottish Natural Heritage. This permission will not be withheld unreasonably. The views expressed by the author(s) of this report should not be taken as the views and policies of Scottish Natural Heritage. © Scottish Natural Heritage 2014. COMMISSIONED REPORT Summary Marine Protected Area – related black guillemot surveys 2014 Commissioned Report No. 792 Project No: 15115 Contractor: Bob Swann, North of Scotland Ornithological Services Year of publication: 2014 Keywords Marine Protected Areas; MPA; black guillemots; East Caithness Cliffs; Clyde Sea Sill; Sanda; tysties. Background In order to obtain information to support work on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), black guillemots were surveyed at two sites in Scotland, East Caithness Cliffs and Clyde Sea Sill MPAs, from late March to April 2014. The data from these counts was then compared with counts collected in a similar manner for Seabird 2000. Main findings 1,589 birds were counted in the East Caithness Cliffs MPA. Of these 1,569 birds were in summer plumage, this was a 67% increase on the 939 counted in the same sections for Seabird 2000.
    [Show full text]
  • Review of Reef Effects of Offshore Wind Farm Strucurse and Potential for Enhancement and Mitigation
    REVIEW OF REEF EFFECTS OF OFFSHORE WIND FARM STRUCTURES AND POTENTIAL FOR ENHANCEMENT AND MITIGATION JANUARY 2008 IN ASSOCIATION WITH Review of the reef effects of offshore wind farm structures and potential for enhancement and mitigation Report to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform PML Applications Ltd in association with Scottish Association of Marine Sciences (SAMS) Contract No : RFCA/005/00029P This report may be cited as follows: Linley E.A.S., Wilding T.A., Black K., Hawkins A.J.S. and Mangi S. (2007). Review of the reef effects of offshore wind farm structures and their potential for enhancement and mitigation. Report from PML Applications Ltd and the Scottish Association for Marine Science to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), Contract No: RFCA/005/0029P Acknowledgements Acknowledgements The Review of Reef Effects of Offshore Wind Farm Structures and Potential for Enhancement and Mitigation was prepared by PML Applications Ltd and the Scottish Association for Marine Science. This project was undertaken as part of the UK Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) offshore wind energy research programme, and managed on behalf of BERR by Hartley Anderson Ltd. We are particularly indebted to John Hartley and other members of the Research Advisory Group for their advice and guidance throughout the production of this report, and to Keith Hiscock and Antony Jensen who also provided detailed comment on early drafts. Numerous individuals have also contributed their advice, particularly in identifying data resources to assist with the analysis. We are particularly indebted to Angela Wratten, Chris Jenner, Tim Smyth, Mark Trimmer, Francis Bunker, Gero Vella, Robert Thornhill, Julie Drew, Adrian Maddocks, Robert Lillie, Tony Nott, Ben Barton, David Fletcher, John Leballeur, Laurie Ayling and Stephen Lockwood – who in the course of passing on information also contributed their ideas and thoughts.
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental Statement
    Environmental Statement INFORMATION SHEET Project name: Beatrice Wind Farm Demonstrator Project DTI Project Reference: D/2875/2005 Type of project: Demonstration of offshore wind farm Undertaker name: Talisman Energy (UK) Limited Address: 163 Holburn Street Aberdeen AB10 6BZ Licensees/Owners: Talisman Energy (UK) Limited Anticipated commencement of works: May 2006 Short description of project: Proposed installation and operation of two stand- alone wind turbine generating units (WTGs) to provide electrical power to the Beatrice platforms. The WTGs will be supported on small steel jackets piled into the seabed, and will be 88m high with blades 63m long. The WTGs will be linked to the Beatrice AP platform by a buried umbilical containing the electrical cable. Date and reference number of any Beatrice Decommissioning Programme earlier Statement related to this RDBF/003/00006C-01 and 02 project: December 2004 Significant environmental impacts Underwater noise from piling identified: Potential interaction with birds at sea Statement prepared by: Talisman Energy (UK) Limited – 1– TALISMAN ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Talisman is grateful for the support, advice and comments received from all organisations and individuals during the consultation programme. Thanks are due to the Moray Firth Partnership for help in organising major stakeholder meetings, and to the University of Aberdeen Lighthouse Field Station for access to unpublished data. This Environmental Statement was prepared with support from BMT Cordah Limited. Design and production by The Big Picture. – 2– CONTENTS CONTENTS 1 NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY . .9 1.1 Introduction . .9 1.2 Description of proposed project . .10 1.3 Environmental setting for the proposed WTGs . .11 1.4 Consultation programme .
    [Show full text]
  • UK Offshore Wind Power Market Update Overview of the UK Offshore Wind Power Market and Points to Note for New Entrants May 2019
    UK Offshore Wind Power Market Update Overview of the UK offshore wind power market and points to note for new entrants May 2019 英国海上风电市场投资指南 | 经济及金融形势概览 02 2018年大型上市银行 | 引言 Contents Executive Summary 1 Chapter 1 UK Power Market Overview 3 1.1 Market structure 3 1.2 Market Status 7 1.3 Power Trading 9 1.4 European Commission power market legislation 11 Chapter 2 UK Offshore Wind Market 12 2.1 Market overview 12 2.2 Statutory stakeholders in UK offshore wind market 17 2.3 The Offshore Wind Sector Deal 19 Chapter 3 Project Development Key Steps 22 3.1 Project lifecycle 22 3.2 Seabed Leasing 23 3.3 Planning Consent and generation licence 29 3.4 Contract for Difference (CfD) auction 31 3.5 Transfer offshore transmission asset 41 Summary 48 Contact Details 50 1 英国海上风电市场投资指南 | 经济及金融形势概览 1 UK Offshore Wind Power Market Update | Executive Summary Executive Summary UK power market is one of the most liberalised power market in the world with sophisticated regulatory schemes to support efficiency and encourage competition. The openness and transparency of the UK power market have made it one of the most attractive destinations for overseas investors including strategic investors such as major utilities as well as infrastructure funds and other financial investors. Similar to many other markets in the world, the UK power market is going through a transition towards a cleaner energy mix. The UK will phase out coal-fired power plant by 2025 and offshore wind power is playing an increasingly important role in delivering the low carbon energy mix.
    [Show full text]
  • Dso Ai Market Tests Public Power Data
    New PowerJUNE 2019 REPORT CONTRACTS FOR DIFFERENCE Offshore wind steps up as thermal projects falter AI PUBLIC What can it do for energy? POWER Labour’s plans go local MARKET DSO Joining the EU’s TESTS new entity New products to manage constraint DATA ‘It is astonishing storage Industry should is not on the government’s learn lessons dashboard in the same way as offshore wind’ Mark Wilson, ILI Energy 15 MINUTES ‘Over 200GW of renewable Will GB lose capacity is likely to be required, its TERRE made up of predominantly wind and solar’ derogation? Kyle Martin, LCP Expert information for all those invested in the UK’s energy future REPORT Labour public ownership plan could create hundreds of local energy groups The Labour Party has put forward a programme for a bigger public role in energy supply that includes both national and regional authorities to set policy and could result in hundreds of local energy agencies. It promises, in ‘Bringing Energy Home’, that the change is not a return to “the distant bureaucracies of the 1970s”. The policy will start with a National Energy Agency, set up on the institutional base of National Grid, which will have duties over both decarbonisation and social objectives. It will own and operate the transmission system and will take over some of Ofgem’s functions. It will also be able to borrow to fund system extensions, including owning and operating storage. Regional energy agencies, based on distribution network operators’ areas, will have similar responsibilities within their areas and will also be able to take action over energy efficiency, regional industrial strategy and new infrastructure such as vehicle charging networks.
    [Show full text]
  • Assessment of Vessel Requirements for the U.S. Offshore Wind Sector
    Assessment of Vessel Requirements for the U.S. Offshore Wind Sector Prepared for the Department of Energy as subtopic 5.2 of the U.S. Offshore Wind: Removing Market Barriers Grant Opportunity 24th September 2013 Disclaimer This Report is being disseminated by the Department of Energy. As such, the document was prepared in compliance with Section 515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Public Law 106-554) and information quality guidelines issued by the Department of Energy. Though this Report does not constitute “influential” information, as that term is defined in DOE’s information quality guidelines or the Office of Management and Budget's Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review (Bulletin), the study was reviewed both internally and externally prior to publication. For purposes of external review, the study and this final Report benefited from the advice and comments of offshore wind industry stakeholders. A series of project-specific workshops at which study findings were presented for critical review included qualified representatives from private corporations, national laboratories, and universities. Acknowledgements Preparing a report of this scope represented a year-long effort with the assistance of many people from government, the consulting sector, the offshore wind industry and our own consortium members. We would like to thank our friends and colleagues at Navigant and Garrad Hassan for their collaboration and input into our thinking and modeling. We would especially like to thank the team at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) who prepared many of the detailed, technical analyses which underpinned much of our own subsequent modeling.
    [Show full text]
  • First Quarter 2021 Earnings Presentation
    First Quarter 2021 Earnings Presentation 29 April 2021 1 © Subsea 7 - 2021 subsea7.com Forward looking statements • This document may contain ‘forward-looking statements’ (within the meaning of the safe harbour provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements relate to our current expectations, beliefs, intentions, assumptions or strategies regarding the future and are subject to known and unknown risks that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as ‘anticipate’, ‘believe’, ‘estimate’, ‘expect’, ‘future’, ‘goal’, ‘intend’, ‘likely’ ‘may’, ‘plan’, ‘project’, ‘seek’, ‘should’, ‘strategy’ ‘will’, and similar expressions. The principal risks which could affect future operations of the Group are described in the ‘Risk Management’ section of the Group’s Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2020. Factors that may cause actual and future results and trends to differ materially from our forward-looking statements include (but are not limited to): (i) our ability to deliver fixed price projects in accordance with client expectations and within the parameters of our bids, and to avoid cost overruns; (ii) our ability to collect receivables, negotiate variation orders and collect the related revenue; (iii) our ability to recover costs on significant projects; (iv) capital expenditure by oil and gas companies,
    [Show full text]
  • Who's the Patsy? Offshore Wind's High-Stakes Poker Game
    WHO’S THE PATSY? Offshore wind’s high-stakes poker game Gordon Hughes The Global Warming Policy Foundation GWPF Note 18 WHO’S THE PATSY? Offshore wind’s high-stakes poker game Gordon Hughes © Copyright 2019 The Global Warming Policy Foundation Contents About the author vi 1 Introduction 1 2 Project revenues 2 3 Operating costs 2 4 Financing costs 3 5 Net earnings 3 6 Comparison with the Beatrice offshore wind farm 4 7 Who is the patsy? 5 8 Conclusion 7 Notes 8 About the author Gordon Hughes is a former adviser to the World Bank and is professor of economics at the University of Edinburgh. If you’ve been in the game for 30 minutes and you don’t know who the patsy is...you’re the patsy. Warren Buffett on poker vi 1 Introduction There is an aphorism, which applies to both business and economic policy, that when a deal is too good (or bad) to be sustained, the only question is when and how it breaks down. This applies to the auctions to supply renewable energy under the UK’s Contract for Difference (CfD) contracts.∗ The headlines following the announcement of the results of the allocation round in 2017 highlighted dramatic reductions in the strike prices for three projects due to come on-stream in 2021 and 2022 relative to the strike prices for the previous round of offshore wind contracts. Shortly after the CfD strike prices were first announced, Capell Aris, John Constable andI wrote a paper Offshore Wind Strike Prices: Behind the headlines 1 questioning the assumption that the capital costs of offshore wind were falling rapidly and suggesting that offshore wind would be unviable at these low strike prices.
    [Show full text]