4. Stakeholder Engagement
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Deliverable D.2.3 Site and technology developers, project financers and authorities questionnaires Report on questionnaires March 2012 1 SOWFIA project synopsis The Streamlining of Ocean Wave Farms Impact Assessment (SOWFIA) Project (IEE/09/809/ SI2.558291) is an EU Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) funded project that draws together ten partners, across eight European countries, who are actively involved with planned wave farm test centres. The SOWFIA project aims to achieve the sharing and consolidation of pan- European experience of consenting processes and environmental and socio-economic impact assessment (IA) best practices for offshore wave energy conversion developments. Studies of wave farm demonstration projects in each of the collaborating EU nations are contributing to the findings. The study sites comprise a wide range of device technologies, environmental settings and stakeholder interests. Through project workshops, meetings, on-going communication and networking amongst project partners, ideas and experiences relating to IA and policy are being shared, and co-ordinated studies addressing key questions for wave energy development are being carried out. The overall goal of the SOWFIA project is to provide recommendations for approval process streamlining and European-wide streamlining of IA processes, thereby helping to remove legal, environmental and socio-economic barriers to the development of offshore power generation from waves. By utilising the findings from technology-specific monitoring at multiple sites, SOWFIA will accelerate knowledge transfer and promote European-wide expertise on environmental and socio-economic impact assessments of wave energy projects. In this way, the development of the future, commercial phase of offshore wave energy installations will benefit from the lessons learned from existing smaller-scale developments. 2 Grant Agreement number : IEE/09/809/SI2.558291 Project acronym: SOWFIA Project title: Streamlining of Ocean Wave Farms Impact Assessment Deliverable D2. 3 Site/Technology developers, project financers and authorities questionnaires Authors: Affiliation: Enrique Muñoz Arjona Marine Energy Business Unit, Cristina Huertas Olivares Inabensa, Sevilla, Spain. Davide Magagna School of Marine Science & Deborah Greaves Engineering, University of Plymouth, England. Anne Marie O’Hagan Hydraulics & Maritime Research Brian Holmes Centre, University College Cork, Ireland. Jan Sundberg Uppsala University, Sweden. Teresa Simas Centro de Energia das Ondas - Wave Sofia Patrício Energy Centre, Portugal. Yago Torre-Enciso Ente Vasco de la Energía (EVE), Bilbao, Spain. March 2012 “The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither the EACI nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein” 3 Executive Summary The successful transition of wave energy conversion from the development phase to commercial reality is achieved not only through technological improvements but also through the implementation of a fit for purpose consenting process. A key condition for the improvement of the regulatory procedures is the assessment of the weakness and strength of the existing process. As part of the EU funded SOWFIA project, a “Stakeholders Questionnaire” was designed to determine what type of regulatory procedures site and device developers have gone through in developing their test site. The survey was aimed to gather EU-wide experience of the consenting process, with a particular focus on the way stakeholders were involved in the process and their concerns addressed. The Survey was circulated among EU test site developers, and to wave and tidal device developers. The stakeholder questionnaire was complemented by a “Finance and Authorities Survey” aimed to understand the reason behind funding and approving of test site developments in Europe. This survey was circulated among the six wave energy test sites involved with the SOWFIA projects: AMETS in Ireland, BIMEP in Spain, Lysekil in Sweden, Ocean Plug in Portugal, SEM-REV in France and the Wave Hub in the United Kingdom. This report presents the answers obtained by 16 different site and device developers in response to the surveys developed by the SOWFIA project. The information gathered is organised to reflect the structures of the two questionnaires to allow for a quick comparison between different test sites. Key points gathered are hereby summarized: • Consenting procedures: Each country has implemented the EIA 85/337/EEC and Naturas 2000 in different ways leading to discrepancies in the consenting process in Europe. • Formal and informal stakeholder engagement: Many site and device developers have approached stakeholder using informal approached aside from regulation requirements • Response from stakeholders: Fisheries groups represent a common denominator in terms of stakeholders groups for wave and tidal energy development. • Concerns raised: Concerns predominantly involved issues of navigation safety, fishing areas and impacts on marine life. • Opinion of the consenting process and lessons learned: Approaching stakeholders early and establishing open discussion is key to reduce stakeholders’ concerns. • Financing: Test sites often financed by local or national government in conjunction with EU. • Authorities: Approval given on the basis of existing regulations and considering renewable energy obligations. This document shows the results obtained from an EU wide survey of site and device developers, and aims to present the reader with an overview of the experience to date in terms of consenting process and stakeholder engagement. A more in-depth analysis of the results obtained will be carried out within the SOWFIA project, integrating the work of these surveys with the results obtained. 4 Table of Contents 1. Introduction................................................................................................................ 8 2. General Description of Site ......................................................................................... 9 2.1. Test Sites ............................................................................................................ 9 2.2. Additional Sites ................................................................................................. 11 2.3. Wave Power developers .................................................................................... 12 2.4. Tidal Stream Developers .................................................................................... 17 3. Consents Required and Stakeholder Engagement in the Consenting Process ............. 19 3.1. Test Sites .......................................................................................................... 19 3.2. Additional Sites ................................................................................................. 22 3.3. Wave Power Developers.................................................................................... 23 3.4. Tidal Stream Developers .................................................................................... 25 4. Stakeholder Engagement .......................................................................................... 27 4.1. Test Sites .......................................................................................................... 27 4.2. Additional Sites ................................................................................................. 29 4.3. Wave Power Developers.................................................................................... 30 4.4. Tidal Stream Developers .................................................................................... 31 5. Public and Stakeholder Awareness ............................................................................ 32 5.1. Test Sites .......................................................................................................... 32 5.2. Additional Sites ................................................................................................. 33 5.3. Wave Power Developers.................................................................................... 33 5.4. Tidal Stream Developers .................................................................................... 34 6. Stakeholder Engagement in the Consultation Process ................................................ 35 6.1. Test Sites .......................................................................................................... 35 6.2. Additional Sites ................................................................................................. 38 6.3. Wave Power Developers.................................................................................... 39 6.4. Tidal Stream Developers: ................................................................................... 42 7. Stakeholder Concerns ............................................................................................... 43 7.1. Test Sites .......................................................................................................... 43 7.2. Additional Sites ................................................................................................. 45 7.3. Wave Power Developers.................................................................................... 46 7.4. Tidal Stream Developers ...................................................................................