Ministerial guidelines
Wind Energy Development Guidelines
Siting, design, noise and shadow flicker for wind farms. A revised draft was published for consultation in 2019.
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government · June 2006 · 119 pages
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- 15 Planning Guidelines an area from future wind energy development but the inclusion of such objectives in a development plan is a material factor that will be taken into consideration in the assessment of a planning application. Accordingly, such objectives should be up-to-date and accurate, and reflect the current situation on the ground. 3.9 Tourism and Recreation The effect of wind energy development on tourism and recreational activities must be assessed. In this regard, it is desirable that the relevant regional tourist authority should be consulted. In many areas in Ireland, tourism and recreation underpin the local economy and can depend to varying degrees on the quality of the environment. Wind energy developments are not incompatible with tourism and leisure interests, but care needs to be taken to ensure that insensitively sited wind energy developments do not impact negatively on tourism potential. The results of survey work indicate that tourism and wind energy can co-exist happily6. The educational potential of wind energy developments should also be considered. For example, there may be scope for interpretive centres on alternative energy resources to be located at accessible locations in proximity to some wind energy developments. It would be helpful if established long distance walking routes/amenity rights-of-way were identified and mapped in the Development Plan. This would enable an assessment both of the extent to which recreational pursuits can be accommodated and facilitated either within or adjacent to wind energy developments. 6 Attitudes Towards the Development of Wind Farms in Ireland - Sustainable Energy Ireland, 2003.
- 16lanning Guidelines Chapter 4 Planning Applications and Environmental Impact Assessment The purpose of this Chapter is to advise planning authorities on issues that will arise both before and during the planning process. It includes guidance on pre-planning consultations, grid connections, public consultation, and the requirements in relation to environmental impact statements. 4.1 Pre-Application Consultation7 The primary purpose of consultation is to improve the quality of a subsequent application, to avoid the necessity for seeking additional information and in some cases to spare the costs of what is likely to prove an unsuccessful application. Consultation can be of value in: • highlighting development plan objectives on wind energy as referred to in Chapter 3, and • suggesting need for specialist input as referred to in Chapters 5 and 6. It would be helpful if planning authorities maintained an up to date database for all granted and “built” wind energy developments including transboundary information where applicable. To ensure that pre-application consultation is as productive as possible a developer may be invited to submit a minimum level of documentation in advance of the meeting. This might include site location maps, initial description of the development including 7 Section 247 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, provides that a person who has interest in land and who intends to make a planning application may enter into consultations with the planning authority in order to discuss any proposed development in relation to the land. A person with no such interest has no statutory entitlement.
- 17 Planning Guidelines any initial economic or market factors, sample zones of theoretical visibility, etc. It is strongly recommended that the planning authority consult with the Development Applications Unit of Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government at the earliest planning and design stages in relation to wind energy developments that may have a potential impact on the built and natural heritage. Good research and wide consultation by all parties at the site selection stage can avoid unnecessary time delays and expense in considering unsuitable sites. 4.2 Wind Measuring Masts Planning applications for wind anemometers and measuring masts are generally sought for a limited period only. Permissions should be granted for approximately a two-year period, in consultation with the developer, to allow a wind resource analysis to be carried out. It would be inadvisable for the planning authority to grant planning permission for a wind measuring mast in an area where there is a presumption against wind energy development in the development plan. In a case where a developer wishes to extend the period of the permission an application must be made to the planning authority to retain the wind measuring mast; otherwise the developer should be required to remove it. 4.3 Access to the Electricity Grid In addition to consultation with planning authorities and statutory bodies, wind energy developers should consult with the relevant electricity transmission or distribution grid operators who have responsibility for access to the local grid system in relation to the nature and location of proposed grid connections. Where the works required to connect the wind energy development to the local electricity transmission/distribution network are not exempt, it will be necessary to submit a planning application to the planning authority. Best practice would suggest that an integrated planning application that combines grid interconnection information together with details of the wind energy development
- 18lanning Guidelines should be submitted to the planning authority. However, if this is not possible, then the planning authority should agree in advance with the developer the information on the grid connection that they consider necessary to enable them to fully assess a planning application for the wind energy project, and which the developer is in a position to furnish. Details of indicative and feasible options for grid interconnection lines and facilities should in general be adequate for a planning authority to consider a wind energy application as the precise capacity required for connection will not be known until planning permission is obtained. Suggested content for these indicative and feasible options include (a) the general direction of connection, (b) connecting line capacity (e.g. 38 kV, 110 kV) and (c) line supporting structure (e.g. single pole, twin pole, lattice tower). The planning authority should note that it may not be possible, due to reasons outside the applicant’s control, to provide information on indicative grid connections at the pre-planning consultation or planning application stage of the wind energy development. It is therefore inappropriate for the planning authority or An Bord Pleanála on appeal to attach conditions to planning permissions for wind energy developments in regard to the location of the connection to the grid. In these instances, a separate application for the grid connection will be necessary. However, where such information is available and is submitted as part of a planning application, it would be appropriate, if considered necessary, to attached conditions in regard to the grid connection. In order to minimize project development risks and to ensure appropriate grid infrastructure which takes account of potential impact on the built or natural heritage, wind energy developers and electricity companies should consult with the planning authority and with the Development Applications Unit of the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government in regard to the submission of a separate application for a grid connection.
- 19 Planning Guidelines 4.4 Public Consultation with the Local Community Planning authorities should encourage developers to engage in public consultation with the local community. While it is not a mandatory requirement, it is strongly recommended that the developer of a wind energy project should engage in active consultation and dialogue with the local community at an early stage in the planning process, ideally prior to submitting a planning application. The developer should work with the local community on the format of any future consultation to allow for the free flow of information between the community and the wind energy developer at all stages in the project. Consultation should be meaningful and should give the local community an opportunity to comment upon and to have an input into the planning and design of the scheme. It may be helpful to put formal procedures in place to deal with queries and complaints from the general public. In accordance with best practice the developer should appoint an individual to be accessible to the local community from the construction to the commission stages to allow for dialogue and communication and to keep the public informed about the progress of the project. A lo-call number for further contact thereafter may also be appropriate. It may also be worth considering providing an opportunity for residents of areas in which it is proposed to develop a wind energy project to invest in the scheme, particularly Typical MediumVoltage (10kV or 20kV) line. Wayleave clearance required but not planning permission, except in particular circumstances. Typical (38kV) line. Requires wayleave and planning permission.
- 20lanning Guidelines where an interest in investing has been expressed by the local community. Best practice guidance on the pre-application public consultation is contained in Appendix 2. 4.5 General Considerations in the Assessment of Wind Energy Planning Applications Planning authorities should have regard to national policy regarding the development of alternative and indigenous energy sources and the minimisation of emissions of greenhouse gasses in considering a planning application for wind energy development. In addition, in order to assess fully the impact of a wind energy development a planning authority may need information on some if not all of the following matters: • Ground conditions, including peat stability; • Site drainage and hydrological effects, such as water supply and quality and watercourse crossings; • Size, scale and layout and the degree to which the wind energy project is visible over certain areas; • Potential impact of the project on natural heritage, to include direct and indirect effects on protected sites, on habitats of ecological sensitivity and biodiversity value and ,where necessary, management plans to deal with the satisfactory co-existence of the wind energy development and the particular species/habitat identified; • Potential impact of the project on the built heritage including archaeological heritage; • Landscape issues; • Visual impact of ancillary development, such as access roads;
- 21 Planning Guidelines • Local environmental impacts including noise, shadow flicker, electromagnetic interference, etc; • Adequacy of local access road network to facilitate construction of the project and transportation of large machinery and turbine parts to site; • Information on any cumulative effects due to other projects, including effects on natural heritage and visual effects; • Information on the location of quarries to be used or borrow pits proposed during the construction phase and associated remedial works thereafter; • Disposal or elimination of waste/surplus material from construction/site clearance, particularly significant for peatland sites; and • Decommissioning considerations. 4.6 Need for an Environmental Impact Assessment An Environmental Impact Assessment is mandatory for wind energy developments that exceed the following thresholds: • have more than five turbines, or • will have a total output greater than 5 megawatts. In these circumstances, an Environmental Impact Statement must be submitted with the relevant planning application (Section 176 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, and Article 93 and Schedule 5, of the Planning and Development Regulations, 2001). Certain sub-threshold developments also require an Environmental Impact Assessment. The information gathered during the Environmental Impact Assessment process should be used to guide the planning and
- 22lanning Guidelines design of the wind energy development so that sensitive ecological or hydrological areas are avoided, and any negative impacts are minimised insofar as is possible. Avoidance or reduction of negative impacts on the environment and the consideration of alternatives are fundamental components of Environmental Impact Assessment, both in terms of legal requirements and best practice. In designing wind energy projects, there is huge potential to avoid or reduce negative environmental impacts, owing to the small size of the actual development footprint. 4.7 Sub-EIA Threshold Developments An Environmental Impact Assessment shall be carried out for wind energy developments below the above mandatory limits if the planning authority (or An Bord Pleanála on appeal) considers that the development would be likely to have significant effects on the environment, by reference to the significant criteria in Annex III of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive as transposed in Schedule 7 of the Planning and Development Regulations, 2001. Regard should also be had to the guidance contained in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Guidance for Consent Authorities regarding Sub-threshold Development, issued by the Department in August 2003.
- 23 Planning Guidelines Chapter 5 Environmental Implications 5.1 Introduction Wind energy development, like all development, has the potential to impact on the natural and built environment. There is huge potential to avoid or reduce negative environmental impacts in designing wind energy projects, owing to the small size of the actual development footprint. The relevant Local Authority Development Plan(s) should be consulted in relation to the natural, built and geological heritage, particularly those areas statutorily designated or protected. In addition, the Development Applications Unit of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is available for consultation with regard to built and natural heritage aspects of proposed wind energy development, whether at pre-planning or planning application stage. The potential impacts on environmental heritage will be dealt with in the following paragraphs. 5.2 Natural Heritage Natural heritage refers to habitats and species of flora and fauna. These natural heritage features may be located within sites that have been designated as Special Protection Areas, Special Areas of Conservation, candidate Special Areas of Conservation, Natural Heritage Areas, proposed Natural Heritage Areas, Nature Reserves, Refuges for Flora and Fauna and as National Parks.8 Natural heritage sensitivities identified to date relate to impacts on certain habitats, such as peatlands, certain species, particularly birds, and 8 Natural Heritage Areas and proposed Natural Heritage Areas, Nature Reserves and Refuges for Flora and Fauna protect nationally and regionally important habitats, species and geological features. Special Protection Areas and candidate Special Areas of Conservation and Special Areas of Conservation are of international importance, constituting the EU’s Natura 2000 Network of protected sites for habitats and species.
- 24lanning Guidelines the integrity of sites designated for the purpose of their protection (conservation). Natural heritage may be impacted by wind energy developments both during the construction and operational phases. These impacts may be either temporary or permanent. Planning authorities should have full regard to biodiversity considerations in determining applications for wind energy developments. All aspects of the proposal that could, in themselves, or in combination with other proposals, affect the areas’ conservation objectives should be identified. Planning authorities must ensure that a proposal which is likely to have a significant effect on an SAC or other designated area, is authorised only to the extent that the planning authority is satisfied will not adversely affect the integrity of the area. If necessary, they can seek changes to the development proposed or attach appropriate planning conditions. In coming to a decision, planning authorities should also consider the importance of the development of wind energy projects, including those proposed on designated sites, in view of their strategic importance in contributing significantly to the achievement of targets set out in the National Climate Change Strategy by decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, with subsequent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. In circumstances where a wind energy project is likely to have an adverse effect on the integrity of a site of international importance for nature conservation (e.g., an SAC or SPA), planning permission should only be granted where there is no alternative solution and where there are imperative reasons of overriding public interest, including those of a social or economic nature. Mitigation measures to negate the negative impacts will have to be considered, or the provision of compensatory sites.
Source Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Wind Energy Development Guidelines (June 2006) · Licence the publisher's termsText read from the publisher’s PDF; tables, maps and drawings do not survive as text, and page numbers are the PDF’s (its first page is 1). Check the original before relying on a passage.