|
EDINBURGH, Scotland, May 10, 2006 (Refocus
Weekly)
The Scottish Executive has started one of the
largest studies in the UK into the environmental effects of marine
renewable energy.
A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) has been commissioned
to examine the environmental effects of using tidal and wave power
to generate power, with the first stage to include a consultation
about the scope of the project. The study will be fundamental to the
development of Scotland's renewable energy industry and likely will
inform national policy, say officials.
Consultants Faber Maunsell, working with environmental engineers
Metoc, have published a scoping report to set the proposed
methodology of the study and to highlight areas where more
information is needed. They will conduct specialist assessments of
the effect of marine devices on a variety of issues, ranging from
shipping and navigation, marine mammals and birds, to the coastal
landscape.
“We will be looking at the impact of tidal and wave systems on
everything from seals and birds to fisherman, and how developments
might affect communities or habitats on the shore,” says project
director Iain Bell of Faber Maunsell. “We want to make sure this
study is as thorough as possible and we welcome contributions to the
assessment via the scoping consultation; ultimately, this strategic
assessment will be used to inform national and local level decisions
on marine renewable energy policy.”
Proposed sites on the western seaboard of Scotland will be examined,
including the Inner Isles, Western Isles, Pentland Firth and the
Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland. The Forum for Renewable
Energy Development has estimated that Scotland has the potential to
develop 1,300 MW of energy from marine renewables by 2020.
The draft Environmental Report will be produced this summer, at
which time Faber Maunsell and Metoc will publish the findings from
the SEA and request further feedback from stakeholders. A final
report will be submitted to the Scottish Executive this fall.
In July 2004, it became a legal requirement for all spatial plans
and programs in Scotland to be subject to a SEA under new
environmental assessment regulations. This SEA will “strategically
assess the potential environmental effects that the development of
marine renewables (wave and tidal devices) off the coast of Scotland
will have on the environment” and the results will be used by the
Scottish Executive “to inform the development and implementation of
its strategy for marine energy.”
In the context of the SEA, marine renewables refers only to wave and
tidal devices, and excludes offshore wind. This SEA is not being
conducted for the licensing of potential sites, as was the case with
the England and Wales offshore wind licensing in ‘Round 2.’
Although energy policy is the responsibility of the UK government,
certain devolved responsibilities rest with Scottish Ministers and
the Scottish Executive, including implementation of the federal
energy policy within Scotland and, as part of that, the promotion of
renewable energy and energy efficiency. The Scottish Executive has
set a higher target for green power, to require 18% of electricity
generated in Scotland by 2010 to come from renewables, rising to 40%
by 2020.
“These higher targets for renewable energy contributions are based
upon the fact that there is already a high level of renewable energy
generation existing in Scotland, predominantly through hydro power,
and that Scotland’s geography and climate offers enormous potential
for the development of additional renewable energy sources,” the
document explains. “This potential is estimated to be a generation
capacity of around 60 GW, which represents 75% of the entire
installed UK generating capacity.”
Click here for more info
Visit http://www.sparksdata.co.uk/refocus/
for your international energy focus!!
Refocus © Copyright 2005, Elsevier
Ltd, All rights reserved.
|
