Rumster Community Wind Energy Project Technical Potential and Feasibility Study Report OSE/2824 Volume 1 Orkney Sustainable Energy Ltd 6 North End Road Stromness Orkney KW16 3AG Final Report Rumster Community Wind Energy Project October 2007 Rumster Community Wind Energy Project Technical Potential and Feasibility Study Report OSE/2824: Final October 2007 Project Developer: Latheron, Lybster and Clyth Community Development Company Project Coordination: Eric Larnach Telephone 01593 731455 Email [email protected] Project design: Richard Gauld BSc(Hons) IEng MInstMC Dip.Design&Innovation Orkney Sustainable Energy Ltd 6 North End Road Stromness Orkney KW16 3AG Telephone 01856 850054 Facsimile 01856 851239 Email [email protected] Richard Gauld is a Member of the Institute of Measurement and Control, is a professional design engineer, and is registered as an Incorporated Engineer with the Engineering Council of Great Britain. OSE/2824 3 Final Report Rumster Community Wind Energy Project October 2007 Rumster Community Wind Energy Project Report OSE/2824 Technical Potential and Feasibility Study This report is a study into the technical potential and feasibility of a community- owned wind energy project proposed for part of Rumster Forest, to the north-west of Lybster in Caithness. The report is divided into two volumes; Volume One identifies the possible location, planning constraints, ecological constraints, geomorphology, the wind regime, land use, grid issues, forestry and MoD constraints, visual impact assessment, and community ownership issues, with an appendix on potential archaeological impacts,. Volume Two contains preliminary site plans, zone of theoretical visibility maps, and photomontage images. Volume 1: Section 1 Location identification, grid issues, and planning constraints Section 2 Land use, geomorphology, hydrology and forestry constraints Section 3 Ecological constraints Section 4 Landscape and visual impact assessment Section 5 Socio-economics and community governance Appendix A Archaeology desk-based assessment Volume 2: Preliminary Site Drawings, Maps and Photomontage Images OSE/2824 4 Final Report Rumster Community Wind Energy Project October 2007 CONTENTS SUMMARY 7 INTRODUCTION 8 1 SITE DESCRIPTION, GRID AND PLANNING CONSTRAINTS 9 1.1 PROPOSED LOCATION 9 1.2 WIND ASSESSMENT 10 1.3 CARBON EMISSION AVOIDANCE 10 1.4 ALTERNATIVE LOCATIONS 11 1.5 PROVISIONAL DESIGN STATEMENT 13 1.6 WIND TURBINE SELECTION 14 1.7 EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION 15 1.8 NATIONAL PLANNING CONTEXT 16 1.9 LOCAL PLAN CONTEXT 16 1.10 STRUCTURE PLAN CONTEXT 17 1.11 HIGHLAND RENEWABLE ENERGY STRATEGY 18 1.12 GRID ISSUES 18 1.13 POTENTIAL DISTURBANCE FROM NOISE 19 1.14 POTENTIAL DISTURBANCE FROM SHADOW FLICKER 20 1.15 POTENTIAL RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS INTERFERENCE 21 2 LAND USE, GEOMORPHOLOGY, HYDROLOGY AND FORESTRY 22 2.1 GEOLOGY 22 2.2 HYDROLOGY 23 2.3 GEOMORPHOLOGY – RISK OF PEAT SLIDE 24 2.4 LAND USE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 25 2.5 FORESTRY ISSUES 26 3 ECOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS 27 3.1 BACKGROUND 27 3.2 SHIELTON PEATLANDS SSSI 27 OSE/2824 5 Final Report Rumster Community Wind Energy Project October 2007 3.3 EAST CAITHNESS CLIFFS SPA 28 3.4 REISGILL BURN SSSI 29 3.5 PROPOSED BIRD STUDIES 29 BROWN & SHEPHERD SURVEY – METHOD 29 VANTAGE POINT SURVEY - METHOD 30 SWAN AND GOOSE CHECKS – METHOD 30 WADER CHECKS – METHOD 30 BREEDING RAPTORS – METHOD 30 ECOLOGICAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT 30 3.6 PROPOSED MAMMAL SURVEY 32 4 LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT 33 4.1 VISUAL IMPACT UPON THE LANDSCAPE 33 4.2 ZONE OF THEORETICAL VISIBILITY 33 4.3 IMPACT ON VISUAL RESOURCE 34 4.4 VISUAL ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY 34 4.5 CUMULATIVE IMPACT 37 5 SOCIO-ECONOMICS AND COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE 38 5.1 COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT 38 5.2 GOVERNANCE AND SUSTAINABILITY 38 5.3 SOCIO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS 39 5.4 GRANT FUNDING 39 5.5 CONCLUSIONS 40 REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 41 APPENDIX A: DESK-BASED ARCHAEOLOGY ASSESSMENT OSE/2824 6 Final Report Rumster Community Wind Energy Project October 2007 Summary The Rumster Community Wind Energy Project is a locally owned community windfarm being developed by the Latheron, Lybster and Clyth Community Development Company, with co-ordination by Mr Eric Larnach. Orkney Sustainable Energy have been contracted to complete a technical potential and feasibility study. It is proposed that up to three wind turbines be installed on land belonging to the community, on part of Rumster Forest, north-west of Lybster. The preliminary turbine chosen for the development is the REPower MM70 2MW. The turbine model may change, subject to availability, however for the purposes of this report the REPower MM70 has been used to show a typical machine for the development. The electricity generated will be traded to meet the requirements of the Renewables Order (Scotland) 2002. The concept of a locally owned, community wind energy development was initiated by the Community Development Company. Consultation has taken place with the Forestry Commission, Forest Enterprise, SEERAD, the Crofters Commission, Latheron, Lybster and Clyth Community Council, Highland Council Planning and Development, Historic Scotland, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Ministry of Defence, Wick Airport, the Civil Aviation Authority, National Air Traffic Services and OFCOM, the radiocommunications agency. No objections have been raised by these agencies, although OFCOM did indicate that there were concerns with the radiocommunications links that traverse the area, and the project was subsequently redesigned to avoid a radio link to Orkney. As a result of the desk-based design studies, the project has been designed around three 100m tall turbines to give a maximum output of 6MW, with the project designed to fit within the landscape and to have minimal impact upon neighbours. Preliminary landscape and visual impact studies have been completed, and it was determined that the turbines present a simple, clear relationship to the landform and other existing features, and have largely a negligible significance. Potential ecological impacts have been considered, including recommendations for a habitat survey, a mammal survey, a breeding bird survey, and an assessment of any protected species near the site. Initial assessment on the archaeology of the site and surrounding area has been completed and analysis includes a geological and hydrogeological survey, photomontage modelling, a description of the wind turbines, and detailed maps of the development. It was concluded that a small wind energy project is feasible for this part of Caithness, with low impacts upon ecology and the local community. Strong social and economic benefits can be achieved by constructing the Rumster project, along with the associated climate change benefits resulting from renewable energy production. OSE/2824 7 Final Report Rumster Community Wind Energy Project October 2007 Introduction Caithness has the potential to become an important area for wind energy development; a number of projects have been proposed for the county, primarily as large scale windfarms on hilltop and moorland locations. The Rumster project is an alternative to this pattern of development, and has been designed as a small-scale community-owned cluster of wind turbines to avoid dominating the landscape, while providing strong economic benefits. Orkney Sustainable Energy have completed preliminary environmental, financial and social impact studies, resulting in an initial design and development of a three wind turbine project. The Latheron Lybster and Clyth Community Development Company has been leading the development. The Rumster project has been designed around the RE Power 2MW wind turbine, however the actual turbine model may alter nearer the time of construction; the site layout and all modelling has used a 65m turbine tower height and a maximum of 35m blade length. The nearest 33 kV electricity transmission line is located in the A9 corridor to the west of the development site, with underground cabling proposed throughout. The average wind speed on the Rumster site is predicted to be around 9.2 metres per second (ms-1), compared with 9.6 ms-1 predicted at the summits of nearby hills. This lower windspeed is due to the slightly lower elevation of the site, chosen with the aim of reducing visual impact. Based on the manufacturers predictions, three 2MW wind turbines on Rumster will produce around 16.5 GWh of electricity per annum, equivalent to the annual domestic requirements of 3500 households(DUKES). Electricity produced from renewable resources avoids the emission of pollution, and the production of 16,500 MWh is projected to avert the production of around 2000 tonnes of carbon per annum(Carbon Trust). Per head of population, the Rumster project provides a very good contribution towards the Scottish Executive annual targets: This report is presented in seven sections: Section 1 is a description of the location and includes a summary of planning constraints and grid issues, Section 2 is a summary of existing landuse and possible geomorphology and hydrology constraints, Section 3 contains an assessment of ecological impacts, Section 4 is a preliminary landscape and visual impact assessment, Section 5 is a socio-economics study and an assessment of the implications of community ownership, and Appendix A contains a preliminary archaeology survey. Volume 2 of the report contains initial plans, drawings, maps, wireframe images and photomontages. OSE/2824 8 Final