HEALTH & SAFETY
HSE has nearly forty years’ experience as an independent regulator of a wide range of industrial hazards: a major factor in Great Britain having one of the best occupational health and safety records in the world. We regulate those hazards under a well established regulatory regime, providing protection to workers and the public. Our regulatory framework is clear, but regulation is an ongoing process.
Health & Safety in the Wind Energy Industry
We intend to be the key communication aid in the wind energy industry and awareness of health & safety issues comes very high on our list of priorities. My background extends to health & safety areas within a varied professional background so my knowledge in general terms is good. I have very little specific knowledge however within the wind energy industry so thought it wise to find out.
As health & safety can sometimes be somewhat vague, complicated and misunderstood we sought to clear up any misconceptions here in issue 2. We therefore contacted the Health & Safety Executive and asked them to explain their specific role within the wind energy industry and give us some guidance.
Here is their response...
The scale and pace of change needed to move Great Britain to a low carbon energy economy present significant challenges for industry, government bodies and consumers. These challenges must be met if the UK is to have an affordable, sustainable and secure energy future.
The emerging energy economy brings some real health and safety risks to workers and the public. While some of the hazards it presents are new, others are familiar but in new situations or are managed by duty holders with little previous experience. While HSE has regulatory responsibilities in this area, the primary responsibility for protecting health and safety remains, as ever, with those who create the risks.
30 Wind Energy NETWORK
Health and safety is not a devolved matter, although energy, environment and business policy are in Scotland. DECC and BIS lead on energy, climate change and business strategies respectively for England and Wales, and the Welsh Assembly has some responsibilities and targets.
Recognising the national importance of the energy economy, time pressures to implement change, and the potential for safety incidents to have a negative impact on public acceptance and the uptake of the technologies, our desire is to act with sufficient foresight to ensure that health and safety issues are addressed early and do not create unnecessary barriers to the development of a low carbon and secure energy economy.
The UK has the best offshore wind resource in Europe and has excellent prospects for wind energy. Offshore development is set to increase steadily and the UK’s prospects are good, with a substantial proportion of the total European offshore wind resource located in Britain’s waters. Studies estimate the generation potential at close to 1,000 terawatt hours (TWh) per year, equivalent to several times the UK’s total electricity consumption.
HSE has a programme of work - Emerging Energy Technologies (EET) Programme - looking at the implications of the UK's developing energy mix and needs for health and safety, with a view to us continuing to act as an effective enabling regulator. The two long-term energy challenges facing the UK, include:
• tackling climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions to meet legally binding targets; and
• ensuring secure, clean and affordable energy in the face of increasingly uncertain supply
The EET Programme is HSE’s response to these challenges. The Programme is working with stakeholders to identify the
key hazards and risks associated with these technologies. Further details about the EET Programme can be found on HSE's website,
http://www.hse.gov.uk/eet/index.htm One of the programme's five work streams covers renewable energy including wind generation (on and offshore).
There are common hazards across large, medium and small wind energy projects; such as electricity, mechanical failure leading to blade detachment, machinery hazards such as entanglement. But there are also hazards and risks that are unique to the scale of the project, its generating capacity and its geographical location, e.g. access to/from the workboat to the turbine foundation in offshore generation arrays, offshore heavy lifting from crane barges, large number of lifts and obvious hazards of construction work in a cold marine environment. In terms of regulation, there are differences between the on and offshore regimes which are shown in the table below.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Application outside Great Britain) (Variation) Order 2009 (AOGBO), which came into force on 5th August 2009, ensures that HSE can apply health and safety law in relation to energy structures (such as wind turbines) beyond the territorial sea - see
http://www.hse.gov.uk/offshore/notices/o n-81.htm. HSE is therefore responsible for the health and safety at work legislation that applies to Wind farms, offshore and onshore.
For further information please go to:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/eet/index.htm
REGULATORY COVERAGE All existing health and safety legislation will apply to activities with our 12 mile territorial waters. However beyond this limit in the areas that have been designated as Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (application outside Great Britain) (Variation) Order 2009 will apply. The tables below set out the main, specific health and safety regulations that apply to offshore and onshore wind farm activities in Great Britain, and mention some other government departments or regulators with a role in the lifecycle of the activity. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list, the focus in on where there are more detailed, risk or industry specific regulations.
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