We are evolving your ideas… ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT STUDY on construction of a wind farm in Bogoslovec, Municipality of Sveti Nikole and Municipality of Shtip Skopje, October 2016 Investor THOR Impex DOO, Skopje Project Construction of wind farm in Bogoslovec, Document Environmental Impact Assessment Study Technical No. 01-EIA-16 EVOLVING DOO, Skopje- Consulting, training and services Author company Responsible person Expert on Environmental Impact Assessment projects Team leader Slavica Biljarska Mircheski, M.Sc. in Environmental Protection Prof. Dr. Dame Dimitrovski, B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering, EIA Project Evaluation Expert Prof. Dr. Mitko Karadelev, Biologist - Flora and Fauna Expert Marko Rakovic - Ornitologist, Expert Consultant Collaborators Dr Stefan Shkoric - Ornitologist, Expert Consultant Hristo Gjorgjievski, B.Sc. in Civil Engineering (in charge of the team for geological and geo-mechanical surveying) Vesna Strumenikovska, B.Sc. in Environmental Protection Company for consulting, training and services EVOLVING DOO Data on the Author ul. Bukureshka 12/29 1000 Skopje tel. + 389 2 30 60 850 [email protected] Period of drafting July – October 2016 Technical Number: 01-EIA-16 SUMMARY The global commitment for environment protection, and in particular the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, energy import dependence of the Republic of Macedonia, and the need of greater diversity and, therefore, security of the energy supply, inevitably imply increased participation of renewable sources in the final energy consumption. The Energy Development Strategy of the Republic of Macedonia defines the most favourable long-term development of the energy sector in the country in order to ensure safe and high- quality supply of energy to consumers. According to the aforementioned Strategy, the maximum utilization of renewable energy sources is one of the top-priority activities in the energy field. In this context, and in order to provide the necessary energy in Macedonia for 2008-2020, construction of small hydro power plants, wind power plants, solar power plants and biomass power plants is envisaged with a total power of 90 MW and a production of 180 GWh per year by 2020. In particular, the projections envisage that in 2030, wind power planned for electricity generation will reach a value of approximately 14 ktoe (160 GWh). Wind power plants (WPPs) convert the kinetic energy of the wind into more useful forms of energy, such as mechanical energy or electricity. Wind energy is clean, unlimited energy source. WPPs do not use fuel, do not produce greenhouse gases and do not produce toxic or radioactive waste. Wind power plants are built as a compound of several individual wind turbines, which generate energy integrally through a connection to the power system. The choice of commercial wind turbines depends on the choice of the developer and the WPP designer. So far, several studies have been undertaken in Macedonia in order to determine the most suitable locations for the construction of wind farms, as well as assess the wind energy potential at the respective locations. According to a study made on the basis of satellite imagery from AWSTruewind1, an Atlas of the wind energy potential in Macedonia has been compiled. According to the aforementioned Atlas, best locations for further exploration of wind energy have been selected. According to this study, 15 most favourable sites for construction of wind power plants have been selected in Macedonia. Most of these sites are located around Povardarie, Ovche Pole in the vicinity of Sveti Nikole, as well as the higher mountain parts with high wind speeds. For further research on wind energy, four sites have been selected, and since 2006 continuous measurements of wind speed, direction, and other meteorological parameters are measured. The selected sites where the measuring stations have been installed are: Ranavec (Bogdanci) at 472 m.a.s.l, Shashavarlija (Shtip) at 857 m.a.s.l., Bogoslovec (Sveti Nikole) at 733 m.a.s.l. and Flora (Kozhuf) at 1730 m.a.s.l. The project for construction of a wind farm in the area of Bogoslovec, Municipality of Sveti Nikole is aimed at utilization of the detected wind potential in that region for electricity generation. The natural features of the area, with special emphasis on presence of wind, makes it an ideal place for installation of wind power plants. The project in question for installation of wind power plants in the area of Bogoslovec village is planned to cover a land area of 600,129m2 owned by the Republic of Macedonia, and located some ten kilometers west of Shtip. The project area belongs to that of Bogoslovec village, in the municipality of Sveti Nikole. The gross developed surface for construction of wind turbines is about 13,000 m2, and the height that will not exceed 200 m. Installation of 10 wind power 1 1 Wind Energy Resource Atlas and Site Screening of the R. of Macedonia, AWSTruewind, June 2005 plants is envisaged on an area planned for construction of the wind farm. The nominal power of each wind power plant will be 3.3 MW. Apart from the installation of the wind power plants, the project includes finalisation and extension of the existing local road and installation of transformer substation with transmission line aimed at connecting the wind power plants to the power transmission system. The operation of the wind power plants and the additional installations thereof shall not cause significant environmental impacts on the environmental media; on the contrary, this type of electricity generation ranks in the so-called "green technologies" or environmentally friendly technology, which participate in reducing CO2 emissions in the energy sector. In accordance with the Law on Environment (Official Gazette of RM No. 53/05, 81/05, 24/07, 159/08, 53/05, 81/05, 24/07, 159/08, 83/09, 47/10, 124/10, 51/11, 123/12, 93/13, 42/14, 44/15, 129/15, 192/15 and 39/16), this project is subject to Environmental Impact Assessment procedure and therefore a proper study has been developed. The preparation of the Study was entrusted to the Company for consulting, training and services EVOLVING DOO, Skopje, and the investor of the project is THOR IMPEKS DOOEL from Skopje. Responsible expert for the Environmental Impact Assessment and team leader for the development of this study is Pece Mircheski, graduated environmental protection engineer. The Study was drafted in accordance with the Rulebook on the content for requirements that should be observed in an Environmental Impact Assessment Study (Official Gazette No. 33/06) by a multidisciplinary team of experts and professionals. The Environmental Impact Assessment Study provides an image of the existing situation on the locations where the wind power plants will be installed, exploring alternatives, identifying the potential environmental impacts during the construction phase, the operational phase - generation of electricity, the post-operational phase, and proposes measures for their reduction or mitigation. Contents NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................... 7 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 16 1. PROJECT DESCRIPTION, CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION AND DECOMMISSIONING .................. 18 1.1. Significance and Purpose of the Project ..................................................................................................... 18 1.2. General Project Data ................................................................................................................................... 18 1.3. Wind turbines ............................................................................................................................................. 20 1.4. Access Road ............................................................................................................................................... 23 1.5. Connection of the electricity system of Republic of Macedonia ................................................................ 24 1.6. Project activities ......................................................................................................................................... 27 1.7. Analysis of alternatives .............................................................................................................................. 28 1.7.1. Zero alternative (do-nothing scenario) ................................................................................................ 28 1.7.2. Alternative sites ................................................................................................................................... 30 1.7.3. Alternative technology selections ........................................................................................................ 32 1.8. Decommissioning and Remediation ........................................................................................................... 32 2. LEGAL CONDITIONS..................................................................................................................................... 34 2.1. Objective of the Environmental Impact Assessment .................................................................................. 34 2.2. National legislation ....................................................................................................................................