Argyll and Bute Council Planning Protective Services & Licensing Committee Development & Infrastructure Services June 2014 _________________________________________________________________________ Reference No: 14/01152/S36 Proposal: Proposed Installation of 10MW Demonstration Tidal Array including cable landfall and sub-station – Consultation under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 Site Address: Sound of Islay, Isle of Islay _________________________________________________________________________ A. SUMMARY This is a consultation from Marine Scotland in respect of an application under the Electricity Act by Scottish Power to deploy and operate a tidal energy array in the Sound of Islay, with the installation of export cables and the construction of associated onshore infrastructure. The report recommends views to be conveyed to Marine Scotland on behalf of the Council as Planning Authority in respect of the consent sought under Section 36 of the Act, which if it were to be granted, would include a Direction that planning permission for the onshore development be deemed to be granted. B. BACKGROUND The Sound of Islay is a 21km passage of water separating Islay from Jura which at its narrowest point in the vicinity of Port Askaig is only 1.4km wide. It is scoured by tides of up to 5 knots but is generally well protected from wave action. It is 50m to 60m deep at its deepest point, which extends south from Port Askaig for about 1.5km. This location has been the subject of consideration for some time for a production scale developmental tidal energy project, which would provide the applicants with operating experience of devices which might then be deployed in less protected and more energetic waters elsewhere off the Scottish coast. This is a revised proposal to one which was consented by the Scottish Government in 2010. The Council was a consultee at the time and no objection was raised to the marine elements of the proposal. Since that time development work has continued on the project, although no commencement of the development has taken place. Two principal changes to the project have arisen in the interim. Firstly, the type of device to be deployed has now changed as developmental work in this emergent sector has gathered pace, and secondly, the location of the proposed cable landfall, onshore infrastructure and grid connection has been changed from one which was intended to be on the Isle of Jura to one which is now to be located on Islay. Since the original consent was granted there have also been changes to the consenting regime for major electricity generation projects. Due to the introduction of amended regulations at the end of 2013, it is now open to developers to elect to apply to the Scottish Government for both onshore and offshore elements of a marine project, on the basis that this will include a deemed planning consent for those works which would otherwise have required separate planning consent for works on land. This is one of the first schemes being progressed on that basis. The Electricity Act consent granted in 2010 provided for the installation of 10 No. 1MW tidal devices in the Sound of Islay for the purposes of capturing tidal energy and converting that to electricity. Each turbine was to be mounted on a tripod support structure and would host a 23m rotor diameter at a minimum water depth of 48m from the blade tip, so as to maintain navigation. The particular turbine model was designed so as to be capable of being installed without the need for specially designed vessels or installation equipment, or the use of divers, with a substructure held in place on the sea bed by ballast to secure it against overturning loads imposed by the tide or the rotation of the turbine blades. The devices were to be installed in a north-south orientation parallel to the Islay coast in an area of deep water to the south of Port Askaig, and were envisaged to be operated during an initial 7 year lease period, with an option to extend. The cable landfall point was intended to be at the south end of the Array on the Jura coast, with a cable route along the edge of the public road on Jura to a proposed new substation inland, approx. 1.4km from the landfall point. No planning permission was sought at the time for the onshore works, and following a change in land ownership on Jura, the site originally envisaged is no longer available. Accordingly, approval is now being sought for the onshore element of the proposal at an alternative site on Islay, and by means of a composite Section 36 application addressing all the infrastructure required for the project. In consenting the original scheme in 2010, the Scottish Ministers imposed conditions at the request of consultees, including the Council, which secured inter alia the following: • An operational life of 14 years following commissioning; • The implementation of an Environmental Monitoring Plan in respect of marine mammals, birds, basking sharks, migratory fish, shellfish and seals; • The submission and approval of a Fishing Mitigation Plan in consultation with the Clyde Fishermen’s Association. • Mapping and avoidance of maerl (protected rocky seaweed); • The submission and approval of a Construction Method Statement and a Waste Management Plan; • Removal of equipment in the event electricity generation was to cease for more than 18 months; • A requirement for a decommissioning programme at the end of the consent period. C. DETAILS OF THE REVISED PROPOSAL The purpose of this project is to gain experience in the operation of tidal devices in relatively sheltered waters. It will build on recent development work with the deployment of trial devices in Orkney and Norway which in turn will assist in the development of sites in more exposed locations such as the Pentland Firth. The current proposal is to utilise an alternative model of turbine to that previously consented in the light of subsequent technical development and trial experience and to move the locations of the devices slightly from their contented positions. An amended means of device installation is also proposed (moored barge and tug rather than dynamic positioning vessel). This cannot be achieved in the context of the original Marine Licence so requires a further application. It is also proposed that the cable landfall and sub-station site be location on Islay rather than Jura as originally envisaged, and the opportunity is being taken to seek consent for both the marine and terrestrial elements of the revised proposal by means of a single modified Marine Licence application. That application has been submitted to Marine Scotland and is accompanied by Supplementary Environmental Information to that which was produced as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment undertaken in 2010 in support of the original application. The proposed turbine model is a fully submerged bottom mounted horizontal axis 3 bladed device, mounted on a gravity ballast tripod support structure. The ten turbines proposed will be located in pairs or groups of three in a north–south aligned pattern off the east coast of Islay to the south of Port Askaig. Each turbine has a 26m hub height and a 26m rotor diameter (compared with a previously consented 22m hub height and a 23m blade diameter). The revised tip height will be 39m (rather than 33.5m as consented) although given a slightly deeper deployment depth, the under keel clearance will still be a minimum of 13.6m. (Under keel clearance for the largest vessel known to use the Sound will be over 5m and over 9m for the Calmac ferry). The device locations are to move between 41m and 117m from their consented locations but will still be within the confines of the original application site. The anticipated life of the project is to be increased from 14 to 25 years. Construction is intended to be completed by April 2017. In addition to the marine infrastructure, deemed planning consent is being sought as part of the Marine Licence for the onshore element of the proposal which comprises a substation compound accommodating a control building, transition pit, external transformers, current regulators and associated electrical infrastructure. Marine works The environmental consequences of the marine element of the revised proposal have been re-assessed in an addendum to the original Environmental Statement which concludes as follows: Physical Processes – ‘negligible’ effect on hydrodynamic sedimentary regime. Benthic Ecology - no species of conservation importance present and no implications beyond those identified in connection with the original proposal. Water and sediment quality - no implications beyond those identified in connection with the original proposal. Marine Mammals – primarily harbour seals and some grey seals. Collision risk impact considered ‘minor’ which is less than the original estimated impact given the result of modelling which was not available at the time of the previous application. Potential impacts unlikely to undermine the conservation objectives of the South-East Islay Skerries Special Area of Conservation. Marine Fish and Shellfish, Anadromous (freshwater spawning) Fish, and Elasmobranchs (basking sharks) – ‘negligible’ adverse effects. Ornithology – further seabird surveys carried out but no further implications identified beyond those identified in connection with the original proposal. Commercial Fisheries and Navigation – commercial fishing limited in the Sound to use of static gear (creeling). Extensive consultation with fishing interests undertaken. Impacts