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Development of Solar Farms in South West England: Environmental Assessment and Planning Issues

Ian Roach MSc MIEMA CEnv

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Development of Solar Farms in South West England: Environmental Assessment and Planning Issues

Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs)

• FiTs scheme introduced 1 April 2010

• Subsidies to encourage deployment of

small scale (<5MW) low carbon electricity

generation

• Cost shared among electricity suppliers

according to their market share, with costs

ultimately passed on to consumers

• Focus on organisations, businesses,

communities and individuals who have not

traditionally engaged in the electricity

market

• Attractive subsidies led to significant activity

by developers of 5MW solar PV farms

• However, recent Government review

significantly reduced tariff (more on this

later…)

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Development of Solar Farms in South West England: Environmental Assessment and Planning Issues

Global Irradiation and Solar Electricity Potential

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Development of Solar Farms in South West England: Environmental Assessment and Planning Issues

URS Scott Wilson Experience

Major commission October 2010 to April 2011 with one developer client:

• 11 sites across Devon and Somerset

• EIA screening opinion requests – EIAs not required

• Ecology, landscape, heritage and flood risk assessments

• Multidisciplinary design workshops to minimise environmental effects

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Development of Solar Farms in South West England: Environmental Assessment and Planning Issues

EIA Screening Reports prepared and submitted with Screening Opinion requests

• Schedule 1? No

• Schedule 2? Not specifically, but our interpretation was Yes under Part 3a

“industrial installations for the production of electricity, steam and hot water”

• [Note: Cornwall Council also interpreted Yes but under Part 1a

“use of uncultivated or semi-natural land for intensive agricultural purposes”, mainly because Circular

2/99 referred to development “such as greenhouses”.]

• Within a Sensitive Area? No, deliberately so

• Meet or Exceed Threshold? Yes, sites typically 15 to 20 hectares

(threshold 0.5 hectare)

• Significant Effects Likely? Although there would be some environmental

effects, robust arguments were made such that these would not be “significant”

in EIA terms

EIA Screening

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Development of Solar Farms in South West England: Environmental Assessment and Planning Issues

Ecology

Extended phase 1

habitat survey and

desk study

Wintering birds survey

Designs retained

hedges and trees

Recommendations for

timing of vegetation

clearance

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Development of Solar Farms in South West England: Environmental Assessment and Planning Issues

Landscape and Visual

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Development of Solar Farms in South West England: Environmental Assessment and Planning Issues

Heritage

Built heritage – potential setting impacts

Historic landscape – close liaison with landscape architect

Archaeology – potential physical impacts

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Development of Solar Farms in South West England: Environmental Assessment and Planning Issues

Flood Risk and Hydrology

• Sites chosen to be in Flood Zone 1 – low risk from fluvial, no risk from tidal

• Increase in impermeable area not significant, nevertheless SUDS proposed in

the form of cut-off trenches and swales to avoid impacts on adjacent land

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Development of Solar Farms in South West England: Environmental Assessment and Planning Issues

Collaborative Design Workshops

Engineers

Landscape

Architect

Hydrologist

Project

Managers

Ecologist

Heritage

Specialist

Planner

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Development of Solar Farms in South West England: Environmental Assessment and Planning Issues

Landscape Masterplan

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Development of Solar Farms in South West England: Environmental Assessment and Planning Issues

Final Designs and Planning Applications

Environmental assessments complete?

Site layouts and design details finalised?

Planning documents ready?

Planning applications submitted? Not yet, but maybe….