SITE SELECTION & PLANNING
FEATURE SPONSOR
SITE SELECTION – PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The Crown Estate’s demonstration zone scheme has stimulated much needed momentum into the marine energy sector. However, the availability of demonstration zones themselves does not remove the need to consider the practical criteria required to implement a successful project.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS The geological characteristics of any given site need to be considered against the requirements of the technology to be deployed. For example, sea bed slope, direction and velocity of currents and the passage of surface traffic will be relevant to tidal stream projects while the ability to anchor generating plant securely will also be of relevance to wave device developers. In addition, the ability to safely lay and embed cabling and ultimately to connect onshore are all key issues to be addressed. Baseline surveys are, therefore, an essential early stage step in order to identify and plan for any potential issues early on.
GRID CONNECTION
The availability of grid connection and the distance between the foreshore and the nearest connection point is a key consideration to the successful delivery of any project. The higher the generation capacity the more significant the infrastructure that is required to deliver the power to the Grid potentially creating greater competition
In addition, care is required where there are special interest land owners, such as bodies exercising statutory powers, that cannot be compelled to cede their land rights by compulsory purchase order. Care is also required to avoid (or plan for) the need to cross embedded rights such as oil transmission pipe lines or existing power cables. Indeed,
Charles Reynard Partner
Energy & infrastructure team Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP
for that capacity. Unlike certain areas of Scotland, many proposed sites in Wales are well served by grid capacity such as proposed demonstration zones off Anglesey; the Holyhead Deep and Pembrokeshire’s coastline.
CABLE ROUTE: SECURING THE NECESSARY RIGHTS A desk top study of the property interests along any proposed cable route will assist in identifying potential cable routes although there will be technical considerations to any decision on the transmission route. If there are several land owners along any given cable route there is the risk that they may club together in order to extract maximum returns.
on some lateral cable infrastructure projects, drainage rights are proving to be a particularly knotty issue.
Somewhat like buying one’s own house, the selection of an appropriate site is a compromise amongst a number of competing issues and characteristics. These will not only include the physical characteristics of the site and the proximity of a grid connection but also the local appetite to support such projects, the availability of a local supply chain, the likelihood of securing planning consent and the availability of grants or other funding to assist in the development of the project. In this respect, Wales has a great deal to offer.
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www.wavetidalenergynetwork.co.uk
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