West Orkney South Wave Energy Site Environmental scoping report 80359 MARCH 2012 West Orkney South Wave Energy Site Scoping Report RSK GENERAL NOTES Project No: 80359 Title: West Orkney South Wave Energy Site - Scoping Report Revision: 00 Client: E.ON Issue Date: April 2012 Issuing Office: Helsby Authorised by: Project Manager Date: 17/04/2012 Authorised by: Project QA Rep Date: 17/04/2012 RSK Environment Ltd (RSK) has prepared this report for the sole use of the client, showing reasonable skill and care, for the intended purposes as stated in the agreement under which this work was completed. The report may not be relied upon by any other party without the express agreement of the client and RSK. No other warranty, expressed or implied, is made as to the professional advice included in this report. Where any data supplied by the client or from other sources have been used, it has been assumed that the information is correct. No responsibility can be accepted by RSK for inaccuracies in the data supplied by any other party. The conclusions and recommendations in this report are based on the assumption that all relevant information has been supplied by those bodies from whom it was requested. No part of this report may be copied or duplicated without the express permission of RSK and the party for whom it was prepared. Where field investigations have been carried out, these have been restricted to a level of detail required to achieve the stated objectives of the work. This work has been undertaken in accordance with the quality management system of RSK Environment Ltd. RSK Environment Ltd i RSK/HE/P80359/03/02 WOS Scoping Rep Rev00 West Orkney South Wave Energy Site Scoping Report TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................1 1.1 Background......................................................................................................................1 1.1.1 Company background ..............................................................................................1 1.1.2 Location ....................................................................................................................2 1.2 Project outline..................................................................................................................3 1.3 Purpose of scoping report .............................................................................................4 1.4 Scoping report structure ................................................................................................4 1.5 Strategic context .............................................................................................................5 1.6 Consultation.....................................................................................................................6 2 LEGISLATION AND CONSENTS REQUIRED.......................................................................7 2.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................7 2.2 Offshore planning consents...........................................................................................7 2.2.1 Consents from Marine Scotland ...............................................................................7 2.2.2 Application ................................................................................................................8 2.2.3 Consents from other agencies..................................................................................8 2.3 Planning consent for onshore projects ........................................................................9 2.4 Environmental statement approval procedure.............................................................9 2.4.1 Submission ...............................................................................................................9 2.4.2 Consultation..............................................................................................................9 2.4.3 Habitats Regulations appraisal.................................................................................9 2.5 Project determination ...................................................................................................10 2.5.1 Other likely requirements........................................................................................10 3 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................11 3.1 The project to date ........................................................................................................11 3.2 Pelamis wave energy converter, proposed array layout and other required infrastructure .................................................................................................................13 3.2.1 Pelamis – a brief history .........................................................................................13 3.2.2 P2 physical characteristics .....................................................................................14 3.2.3 Array design............................................................................................................15 3.2.4 Mooring...................................................................................................................17 3.2.5 Marking...................................................................................................................19 3.2.6 Corrosion protection ...............................................................................................20 3.2.1 Export cable............................................................................................................20 3.3 Construction and installation.......................................................................................20 3.3.1 WEC construction...................................................................................................20 3.3.2 Pre-construction surveys ........................................................................................20 3.3.3 Vessels ...................................................................................................................21 3.4 Operational control and maintenance.........................................................................21 3.4.1 Control ....................................................................................................................21 3.4.2 Operations and maintenance .................................................................................22 3.4.3 Materials and energy usage ...................................................................................23 3.5 Cable connections and substation..............................................................................23 3.5.1 Connections............................................................................................................23 3.5.2 Onshore cable and substation................................................................................24 3.6 Accidental events..........................................................................................................24 RSK Environment Ltd iii RSK/HE/P80359/03/02 WOS Scoping Rep Rev00 West Orkney South Wave Energy Site Scoping Report 3.7 Decommissioning ......................................................................................................... 24 3.8 Schedule ........................................................................................................................25 4 APPROACH TO THE EIA..................................................................................................... 27 4.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................27 4.2 Baseline ......................................................................................................................... 27 4.3 Assessment of environmental impacts and their significance................................ 27 4.4 Development of mitigation measures......................................................................... 28 4.5 Consultation .................................................................................................................. 29 5 EIA TOPICS .......................................................................................................................... 31 5.1 Coastal and sedimentary geology processes ........................................................... 31 5.1.1 Existing situation .................................................................................................... 31 5.1.2 Potential effects and mitigation.............................................................................. 32 5.1.3 Scope of work for survey and assessment ............................................................ 33 5.2 Designated sites and conservation interests ............................................................ 34 5.2.1 Existing situation .................................................................................................... 34 5.2.2 Potential effects and mitigation.............................................................................. 36 5.2.3 Appropriate assessment ........................................................................................ 37 5.2.4 Scope of work for survey and assessment ...........................................................