FEATURE SPONSOR
GRID CONNECTIONS CONSEQUENCES
The combination of these factors makes it very difficult to engage, educate, negotiate and achieve agreement or consensus with these stakeholders. The consequence of these difficulties is often the true cause of projects going into lengthy public inquiries, challenges and reviews, rather than any genuine technical or environmental constraint.
EXAMPLE
To illustrate, a typical multi-kilometre buried export cable and substation for an offshore wind farm will affect a multitude of onshore groups, with disparate concerns and agendas, often without any organised or co-ordinated spokesman or policy. Stakeholders include, but are not limited to, landowners, local farmers and businesses, residents, tourists, parish councils, district councils, county councils, members of parliament, DCLG, DECC, PINS, Natural England, Environment Agency, RSPB, Wildlife Trusts, CPRE, English Heritage, Highways Agencies, Highways Authorities and County Archaeologists.
Each of these groups has a variety of needs, levels of knowledge, availability, experience and policy with respect to grid connections. As such, undertaking a thorough consultation and scoping exercise with these groups is paramount to progressing an environmental impact assessment and planning application (or Development Consent Order).
the current economic climate resulting in staff reduction to key government and non- governmental advisors who would normally form key stakeholders. National bodies such as Natural England and the Environment Agency are becoming increasingly difficult to engage with due to government cut backs and it is quite common now to have to pay a fee to hold a consultation meeting with many government and local government bodies and departments.
SUCCESSFUL ASSISTANCE Royal HaskoningDHV has successfully assisted the development of grid connection routes for several offshore wind farms including Thanet (<5km), Sheringham Shoal (22km) Dudgeon (49km), Galloper (<5km), SeaGreen (25km), Dogger Bank Creyke Beck (30Km) and Dogger Bank Teesside A & B (8km).
In our experience it is all too easy for developers to underestimate the time and resources required to co-ordinate the large variety and scale of surveys and consultation required for multi-kilometre routes.
Our experts excel in route feasibility, incorporating mitigation by design, ensuring a robust route identification and substation or converter station site selection is undertaken from the initial conceptual design stage to avoid many potential impacts and conflicts from the outset.
DEVELOPING A DEDICATED MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAM Our advice to any developers embarking on large electrical connection is to engage advisors early develop a strong and dedicated multidisciplinary team (land agents, engineers, lawyers, consultants) and appoint an experienced EIA co-ordinator to lead the route identification and site selection from the outset and produce a robust Environmental Statement where consultation is at the heart of the process.
PAYING DIVIDENDS
The investment in the right personnel, at project initiation, will pay large dividends to the overall programme and costs of the consenting process, post consent development and construction phase.
Royal HaskoningDHV Click to view more info
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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