Tool application

Name of the tool
Framework of Guidelines for Wind Energy development in Wallonia ("Cadre de reference pour l´implantation d'éoliennes en Région wallonne")

Who applied the tool in the case?
Even if this tool is not yet legally obligatory, it should be used by the Wallonian region ministries in charge of the assessment of the project to grant (or not) the development license.

This Framework is also expected to be considered by wind-farms developers as well as authorities at the inception stage of the project to help the overall decision-making process.

Time taken to fully apply the tool
The Framework should support the design process of a wind-farm development, and help the decision-making process in later stages.

The guideline has to be consulted; the time required depends on users and their background.

Any other interesting information about the tool
The Framework of Guidelines for Wind Energy development does not stand alone, it is part of a double approach that promotes the use, first of general planning-map and afterwards of technical guidelines (the Framework discussed here). This double approach is a step towards the continuity of sustainable concerns from strategic level to technical details.

This approach could help with similar problems concerning the spreading of small built infrastructures through a whole territory to provide necessary resources. The concerns are totally different to a large project that would provide energy for a whole region.

Another lesson learnt is the difficulty of setting up criteria to determine what kind of environmental impact assessment is required for what kind of development. It is the purpose of the screening and scoping stages of the EIA. Concerning wind-farms, European countries mainly systemise the process, providing thresholds of categories. For instance, in Wallonia, 3 categories are made, depending on the power of the turbine developed. The most demanding EIA must be done when the wind-farm exceeds 3MW. In contrast, in France, criteria are based on height of the turbine.

It could be interesting to gather and compare these different European benchmarks, as well as understand the reasons why they have been set up as such.

Case study/ies where tool is in use

Management of wind-farm developments in Wallonia (landscape and use of land)