Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm
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BURBO BANK EXTENSION OFFSHORE WIND FARM DONG Energy Burbo Extension (UK) Ltd. Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm Transponder Mandatory Zone (TMZ) Stakeholder Consultation 1 [ [31 March 2014] Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm DONG Energy Burbo Extension (UK) Ltd. Prepared by: Richie Hinchcliffe (Osprey CSL) Checked by: Paul Childs (Communications Manager, DONG Energy) Accepted by: Vanessa O Connell (Commercial Project Manager, DONG Energy) Approved by: Ferdinando Giammichele (Project Development Manager, DONG Energy) Issue Amendment Date Issue 1a Section 6.3.2 Class D 7 April 2014 Name & Registered Office: DONG Energy Burbo Extension (UK) Ltd. Watson, Farley & Williams LLP 15 Appold Street London United Kingdom EC2A 2HB Company No. 07307131 2 Executive Summary DONG Energy plans to develop an extension to the existing operational Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm in Liverpool Bay. The Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm will cover an area of 40 km2 and have an estimated generating capacity of up to 259 MW. The project development site will be located west of the operational wind farm, around 7 km north of the North Wirral coast near the village of Meols, 8.5 km from Crosby beach, and 12.2 km from the Point of Ayr on the Welsh coast. The Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm was awarded an agreement for lease by The Crown Estate on 11th May 2010, and following extensive planning development and local consultation, DONG Energy submitted an Application for Consent to the Planning Inspectorate on 22nd March 2013. What is the issue? The presence of the Burbo Bank Extension Wind Farm would affect BAE Systems Warton (Warton) Aerodrome flying and Air Traffic Service (ATS) operations, with the most significant impact being the detection of the wind turbines by the Warton Primary Surveillance Radar (PSR). Wind turbines located within PSR coverage can present themselves as a large number of reflecting moving targets to the radar, which look very similar to aircraft radar returns. These false radar returns (also known as “clutter”) displayed on the radar screen can be confusing to air traffic controllers, which has the potential to erode levels of effectiveness and efficiency for the control of aircraft flying in the area of the Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farms. DONG Energy is working with Warton to identify a mitigation to the impact of the turbines on the PSR which will enable the Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm wind turbines to be built without affecting Warton flying operations. Proposed solution In developing the plans to resolve the issues described above, DONG Energy and Warton have considered a variety of options to determine how best to meet the needs of Warton as well as other aviation and non-aviation stakeholders. Whilst the existing operational turbines do not affect the Warton PSR, from an airspace user perspective DONG Energy and Warton, consider that if mitigation involves a change to local airspace, then it is simpler to mitigate the two projects. It would be difficult for a pilot to make a visual distinction between the existing Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm turbines and those of the planned Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm Extension. Warton’s preferred solution is to establish a Transponder Mandatory Zone (TMZ) around the Burbo Bank operational and extension Offshore Wind Farms up to the base of Controlled Airspace (CAS), to be active during the Warton Lower Airspace Radar Service (LARS) provision times1. The proposed TMZ (lined in green) is illustrated in Figure 1 below. 1 Monday to Thursday 0730 – 1900, Friday, 0730 – 1700 (local time) 3 The proposed establishment of the TMZ is one element of a 3-part Mitigation Package aimed at negating the impact of the clutter from the Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm wind turbines upon the Warton PSR. The three parts are: Element 1: Establishment of a TMZ; Element 2: Authorisation to control Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR)2-only and; Element 3: Suppression of PSR returns within the boundary of the Wind Farms. Figure 1 Burbo Bank Proposed TMZ. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. 2013 License number 0100031673. The authorisation to control using SSR-only would be determined by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in parallel to the TMZ consultation activity. The PSR returns from the wind turbines can be supressed in a number of ways including blanking of the radar, or a more sophisticated Non Automatic Initiation Zone (NAIZ). This document outlines the proposal from DONG Energy to maintain the effectiveness and efficiency of the airspace surrounding the Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farms by mitigating the effects of the wind turbines on Warton flying and PSR-based ATS operations. 2 SSR is a radar system used in air traffic control (ATC), that not only provides controllers with azimuth position information, but also requests additional information from the aircraft itself such as its altitude. 4 Stakeholder consultation DONG Energy wishes to engage with all parties that might be affected by this proposed airspace change. All constructive feedback received will inform the development of its proposal, ensuring that any positive impact is enhanced and negative impacts minimised. This consultation is being undertaken in accordance with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Publication (CAP) 725, Guidance on the Application of the Airspace Change Process [Reference 1]. This consultation document will aim to provide all of the information required for stakeholders to make an informed decision on the impact of the proposed changes. The consultation runs from 31 March 2014 to 29 June 2014, a period of 13 weeks. Please respond to this consultation even if you have no objection to the proposal. 5 Contents 1 Glossary 9 2 Introduction 12 2.1 General 12 2.2 Purpose and Objectives 13 2.3 Document structure 13 3 The Consultation Process 14 3.1 Overview 14 3.2 What is this consultation about? 14 3.3 Why is this consultation being carried out? 14 3.4 Who are the Consultees? 15 3.5 Method of consultation 15 3.6 Consultation CAA oversight 15 3.7 Confidentiality 16 4 The Need for an Airspace Change Proposal 17 4.1 Overview 17 4.2 General flying operations at Warton Aerodrome 17 4.3 Justification for an ACP 17 5 Proposed Design Option 22 5.1 Overview 22 5.2 Option 0 – Do nothing 22 5.3 Option 1 – A PSR solution 23 5.4 Option 2 – Radio Mandatory Zone (RMZ) 23 5.5 Option 3 – Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR)-only 23 5.6 Option 4 – Primary Surveillance Radar (PSR) blanking or NAIZ only 24 5.7 Option 5 – A Transponder Mandatory Zone (TMZ) with associated PSR Suppression Techniques 25 5.8 Conclusion 26 6 Development of the Proposed TMZ 27 6.1 Overview 27 6.2 Aim 27 6.3 TMZ boundary requirements and operation 27 6.4 Impact of the TMZ on military operations 30 6.5 Impact of the TMZ on light GA operations 30 6.6 Impact of the TMZ on Offshore Helicopter Operations 30 7 Environmental and Economic Considerations of a TMZ 32 7.1 Overview 32 7.2 Impact of noise 32 7.3 Anticipated level of fuel burn/CO2 emissions 32 7.4 Anticipated effect on local air quality 32 7.5 Environmental implications 33 7.6 Economic benefit 33 8 Next Stages 34 8.1 Overview 34 8.2 Consultation summary 34 8.3 Consultation results 34 8.4 What happens next? 35 9 References 37 A1 Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm Line of Sight Assessment 38 A1.1 Overview 38 A1.2 Boundary Details 38 A1.3 LOS Assessment Methodology 38 A1.4 LOS Assessment Results 39 A1.5 Conclusion 39 A2 Proposed TMZ Co-ordinates 40 A3 Stakeholder / Consultee List 41 A3.1 Aviation Consultees 41 A3.2 Aerodromes / Local Aviation Consultees 43 A3.3 Non-Aviation Consultees: National Bodies 43 A3.4 Non-Aviation Consultees: Regional Council Authorities 43 A3.5 Non-Aviation Consultees: Council Wards / Local Authorities 43 A3.6 Non-Aviation Consultees: Town / Parish Councils 45 A3.7 Information Organisations: Members of Parliament 45 A3.8 Information Organisations: Civil Aviation Authority 46 Table of Figures Figure 1 Burbo Bank Proposed TMZ.. ...................................................................................................................... 4 Figure 2 Liverpool Bay and Morecambe Bay Airspace.. ................................................................................ 18 Figure 3 Liverpool Bay and Morecambe Bay Airspace with the Warton Fillet. ................................... 20 Figure 4 Burbo Bank Proposed TMZ including 2 NM Buffer Zone.. .......................................................... 29 Figure 5 Burbo Bank Proposed TMZ ENR 6.1 Entry.. ..................................................................................... 35 Figure 6 LoS Profile between Warton (PSR) and Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm. .. 39 Table of Tables Table 1 Table of References. ..................................................................................................................................... 37 Table 2 Summary of Turbine/Boundary Details. ............................................................................................. 38 Table 3 Summary of Turbine/Boundary Detection. ....................................................................................... 39 Table 4 BB TMZ Co-ordinates. .................................................................................................................................. 40 Table 5 TMZ Proximity to Military and Civilian Aerodromes. .................................................................... 40 1 Glossary Acronym