This snapshot, taken on 02/09/2009, shows web content selected for preservation by The National Archives. External links, forms and search boxes may not work in archived websites.
The majority of onshore renewable energy proposals represent development and require planning consent, unless they constitute permitted development. Offshore renewable energy developments are subject to a different consenting process.
Significant onshore renewable energy proposals, such as significant biomass proposals and the majority of wind farm proposals, will be the subject of a determination to establish whether an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required as they fall within the definition of ‘Schedule 2’ development under the Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999.
A Schedule 2 development is a development listed and described in column 1 of Schedule 2 of the EIA Regulations, which is either located wholly or in part in a sensitive area, as defined in the Regulations, or meets or exceeds one of the relevant thresholds set out in column 2 of that same schedule.
The Planning Service must screen every application for a Schedule 2 development to determine whether or not an EIA is required. The relevant ‘selection criteria’ are set out in Schedule 3 of the EIA Regulations. In general, and having regard to the interpretation of the Schedule 3 criteria, an EIA will most likely be needed for Schedule 2 developments on the three main types of case:
Any ‘thermal’ biomass power stations with a heat output of 300 megawatts would fall under Schedule 1 of the same EIA Regulations, under which EIA would be mandatory. However, it is not anticipated that any such installations are likely to be built in the UK in the near future.
Hydroelectricity proposals which include the construction of dams or other installations for the permanent holding back or permanent storage of water, where a new or additional volume of water held back or stored would exceed 10 million cubic metres, would also fall under Schedule 1 of the EIA Regulations.
The Department of the Environment within the Northern Ireland Assembly has published details on planning and the EIA process on the Planning Service (Northern Ireland): Planning Policy Statement 1 – General Principles web page.
The Department of the Environment has also produced detailed information in the Planning Service (Northern Ireland): Development Control Advice Note 10 – Environmental Impact Assessment.
It is advisable for developers to contact the relevant Department at an early stage in the selection and design of potential sites.
In the case of wind energy proposals, initial contact can take the form of a planning application for wind monitoring masts, used to help in the assessment of potential sites. Such consultation can usefully inform initial stages of the EIA screening and scoping process, and can also help to assess the potential acceptability of specific proposals to the Department, particularly their compatibility with the relevant development plan.
Where a proposal is likely to be potentially contentious, early dialogue and consultation with the general public can be a useful way of spreading information about particular projects. It can also help to counter both uncertainty and misconceptions regarding the nature and impacts of particular proposals.
A public consultation is also a useful means of identifying legitimate public concerns about particular proposals, so that these can be addressed both in the detailed design of submitted proposals, and in associated supporting information.
Where there is a possibility that an EIA may be required for a proposal, or where it is anticipated that a Schedule 2 proposal may not have sufficiently significant adverse effects to warrant an EIA, developers should formally request a screening opinion from the Department. The purpose of a screening opinion is to inform the developer as to whether or not the Department considers that a proposed development, such as a wind farm or biomass power station, constitutes an EIA development, based on the selection criteria in Schedule 3 of the EIA Regulations. Should the developer disagree with the Department’s screening opinion, then a screening direction can be requested from the Planning Appeals Committee.
The process of requesting and issuing a screening opinion provides an excellent opportunity to focus on the significant issues relating to a proposal.
Many developers do not pursue screening opinions where they believe that a particular development will require an EIA. Obtaining such an opinion is, however, useful as they set out the Department’s opinions as to why an EIA is required under Schedule 3 of the EIA Regulations.
If an EIA is required, a developer can request a ‘scoping opinion’ from the Department under Schedule 4 of the EIA Regulations. This request seeks the Department’s opinion as to the information to be supplied within the proposed Environmental Statement (a scoping opinion).
This request should include:
The Department should adopt a scoping opinion within five weeks of receiving such a request, unless a longer period has been agreed in writing with the person making the request.
Following agreement as to the intended scope of an Environmental Statement, developers can finalise the scope of the information required to undertake any necessary EIA. Such information frequently relates to an assessment of the project’s potential impacts on landscape, visual, ornithological, ecological, noise and impacts on local transport infrastructure, particularly during construction in the case of wind farms, and in the transportation of fuel in the case of biomass power stations.
The collation of the raw data required to undertake an EIA should happen in consultation with the relevant statutory consultees. This will make sure that a competent application is submitted without any data gaps which could otherwise delay assessment and determination.
Schedule 4 of the relevant EIA Regulations sets out the information required for inclusion within Environmental Statements. This should include a description of the proposal, a description and assessment of its likely significant effects (rather than all identifiable effects) and a description of any proposed mitigation.
Environmental Statements generally consist of a non-technical summary, a main report and sometimes a separate volume of plans and figures. Some Environmental Statements are also accompanied by a Planning Statement or equivalent document, setting out the relevant national and local planning context within which the proposal in question will be determined.
It can be beneficial to the subsequent validation and determination of an EIA proposal to provide the relevant local planning authority and consultees with a copy.
Throughout much of the UK, the most significant and controversial renewable energy proposals in the foreseeable future are likely to relate to proposals for wind energy development.
In addition to wind, it is likely that proposals for biomass generation will increase in number as the technology matures and feedstock production increases. Smaller proposals for ground source heat, domestic solar/photovoltaic panels and domestic wind turbines are also likely to increase in number as they become more widely available and costs come down.
All planning applications for renewable energy with an installed capacity below 50 megawatts are dealt with by the Northern Ireland Assembly Department of the Environment. Applications of 50 megawatts and above, including all offshore proposals, are determined by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. Decisions are reached in consultation with a range of consultees, including statutorily, the relevant local authority. Appeals against refused applications are heard by the Planning Appeals Committee.
When submitting an application, applicants should provide the appropriate fee and sufficient copies of any supporting information for statutory consultees. In particular, it is important to make sure that site boundaries are correctly identified as some forms of renewable energy development can include works outside the main site, for example highway improvements necessary to allow the delivery of large turbine components. These should all be identified.
After receiving a valid planning application, the Department has eight weeks in which to determine the proposal, unless an extension in time is agreed with the applicant. After this period, if no decision has been made or there is no agreement to an extension in the determination period, the applicant can appeal against non-determination.
The Department has the power to attach conditions to planning permission. This ability allows it to approve development proposals where it would otherwise be necessary to refuse planning permission. However, the Department will only impose conditions that, in its opinion, are necessary, relevant to planning, relevant to the development being permitted, precise, enforceable and reasonable in all other respects.
Renewable energy schemes are also granted consent subject to planning agreements under Article 40 of the 1991 Planning (Northern Ireland) Order. This can enable a proposal to be approved where it would otherwise be necessary to refuse planning permission.
Such agreements can, for example, require developers to:
Responsibility for the consent process for wind farms off the coast of Northern Ireland lies with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment under the provisions of Article 39 of the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992. In common with the rest of the UK, additional consent is required under the provisions of Section 5 of the Food and Environmental Protection Act (FEPA) 1985 for any activities that result in the deposition of any material in the marine environment below the mean high water springs (MHWS). FEPA licences are granted by the Department of the Environment.
Additional consent may also be required under the provisions of the Coast Protection Act 1949, for construction on or under the seashore below the level of MHWS.
