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Project Summary Project Description Application of Tools Opinion of Tools Decision making process Contact Details

Opinion of tools

Name of the case study
North Hoyle Offshore wind farm


Name of tool
Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) Seascape Assessment

Opinion of tool - argumentation for choosing the tool
This tool has been used to investigate views that exist from different onshore locations using photo montages which were compiled to provide a general idea of what the wind farm would look like. Geographical Information System was used to map the results.

Opinion of tool - barriers for the tool implementation
Well developed procedures are available for the assessment of onshore wind developments, however new procedures are required for offshore wind developments which are a relatively new concept. Potential impacts are very different from those experienced by onshore developments and so a lack of tools were identified to be relevant to the nature of the development.

The approach used is a bottom up rather than top down through involvement and consultation with the public. Tools required to assess sustainability will vary with site size. For example a site with 30 turbines will have very different physical implications than a site with 150 turbines such as impact on waves.


Name of tool
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA);

Opinion of tool - argumentation for choosing the tool
The implementation of an EIA is a statutory requirement for projects of a certain type and size to which this project is included.

Opinion of tool - barriers for the tool implementation
Well developed procedures are available for the assessment of onshore wind developments, however new procedures are required for offshore wind developments which are a relatively new concept. Potential impacts are very different from those experienced by onshore developments and so a lack of tools were identified to be relevant to the nature of the development.

The approach used is a bottom up rather than top down through involvement and consultation with the public. Tools required to assess sustainability will vary with site size. For example a site with 30 turbines will have very different physical implications than a site with 150 turbines such as impact on waves.


Name of tool
Public participation including visual assessment (photo montage)

Opinion of tool - argumentation for choosing the tool
-

Opinion of tool - barriers for the tool implementation
Well developed procedures are available for the assessment of onshore wind developments, however new procedures are required for offshore wind developments which are a relatively new concept. Potential impacts are very different from those experienced by onshore developments and so a lack of tools were identified to be relevant to the nature of the development. The approach used is a bottom up rather than top down through involvement and consultation with the public. Tools required to assess sustainability will vary with site size. For example a site with 30 turbines will have very different physical implications than a site with 150 turbines such as impact on waves.


Name of tool
Socio-economic Impact Assessment (SEIA);

Opinion of tool - argumentation for choosing the tool
The tool was implemented to provide a thorough overview of the socio-economic situation before development and the potential impact that the development could have.

Opinion of tool - barriers for the tool implementation
Well developed procedures are available for the assessment of onshore wind developments, however new procedures are required for offshore wind developments which are a relatively new concept. Potential impacts are very different from those experienced by onshore developments and so a lack of tools were identified to be relevant to the nature of the development. The approach used is a bottom up rather than top down through involvement and consultation with the public. Tools required to assess sustainability will vary with site size. For example a site with 30 turbines will have very different physical implications than a site with 150 turbines such as impact on waves.


Opinion of tool - assessment by tool users
No Response.

Opinion of tool - reviewer\'s assessment
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA);
The EIA covers only environmental issues, and does not consider the other pillars of sustainability (social and economic impacts), this requires further impact assessments to be completed. However in this case, the implementation of a socio-economic impact assessment investigates the other two pillars of sustainability – the economic and social aspects.

An additional criticism of EIA and SEIA, is that the information output is fairly subjective, since the lack of prescriptive guidelines for the implementation of a tool means that the information investigated will be different for each project, meaning that EIAs cannot be compared equally.

Public participation including visual assessment (photo montage);
The use of the photo montage tool in order to inform the public of the likely impact on the views was extremely important and helpful. For many members of the public, the photo montage made the proposal more “real” than the use of a map, this allowed the proposal to be discussed with all involved having a wider understanding and appreciation of the proposed development. This tool is not so useful for long distance visualisation as images can be misleading.

Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) Seascape Assessment;
This 18 month assessment is the first type of tool assessing seascape, something that is increasingly needed when appreciating existing situations prior to the development of offshore wind farms. However, as a result of this being a new tool, limited feedback is available on the implementation of the tool.

What tools were used to assess sustainability?

Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) Seascape Assessment

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA);

Public participation including visual assessment (photo montage)

Socio-economic Impact Assessment (SEIA);

More information

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