Case Study theme 5 - Systems and process for monitoring impacts;
Examples of environmental mitigation techniques
The main barr ier
Applications for wind energy developments are required to be accompanied by an Environmental
Impact Assessment which describes the effects the development is likely to have on the environment.
Planning consent often imposes conditions involving monitoring and actions to take place after
consent is granted. If these activities are are not carried out to a satisfactor y standard the power
exists for authorities to impose fines and/or cancel an operating licence in many jurisdictions. As well
as social/environmental damage, serious financial losses are risked and future developments
jeopardized, as decision makers may be reluctant to consent to schemes in future. However, wellplanned projects where serious measures are taken to anticipate and to minimize adverse social and
environmental impacts, have been show n to positively influence perceptions of wind energy once
completed1.
A main barrier to public and regulatory acceptance in many areas of Europe has been poor quality
EIAs with little attention given to avoidance of impacts which in many cases could have been
foreseen, to the monitoring of impacts, and/or to mitigation of impacts that are unavoidable. This can
seriously delay the consents process as the quality of the EIA is disputed, and/or result in refusal of
consent. In some cases operating turbines have been shut down by the authorities while mitigation
measures for problems w hich should have been foreseen by the EIA were devised and implemented.
Case study pur pose
Following a successful planning application a developer is given powers to construct and operate a
wind ener gy installation. However, it is a requirement under EU and national legislation that the
construction and operation of the facility is managed and controlled in a sustainable way w hich takes
account of environmental effects and minimises impacts.
This is usually achieved through the specification of a detailed suite of conditions that must be met by
the developers in taking the scheme forward from consent, thr ough to construction and eventually
into operation.
The purpose of this case study is to describe currently accepted best practice, and provide examples
of mitigation both following on good practice, and w here inadequate pre-monitoring has lead to
problems w hich have lead to a situation where post-hoc mitigation must be attempted.
Case study research methodology
The case study was based on a review of the scientific and technical literature, and consultations with
stakeholders on key issues, examples of good practice, and lessons learned.
Key issues identified
Good pract ice begins with anticipating and taking ser iously the systems and processes
which will be required to monitor impacts, both in the formal planning guidelines and in terms
of establishing a reputation for good practice with the wider public which will ease future applications.
The Scottish Government‟s website on Energy Consents2 holds a database of all previous consent
letters issued by the Scottish Government, including all conditions for each of the above consents, and
is a good source or star ting point for bodies interested in developing standards for use in their own
processes. Other sources of i nformation on conditions can be obtained from local Planning Authority
websites4.
The currently accepted best standard for monitoring impacts is the BACI approach (beforeafter/control-impact); see also here and here. This approach measures various parameters before and
after development takes place, and compares the development area with similar (control) areas not
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subject to development. This provides the best information with which to assess effects of
development.
Where effects can be predicted or are subsequently demonstrated, the mitigation hierarchy (see
TCS1) is widely regarded as best practice; its application is required in some legal j urisdictions. Efforts
should first be made to pre vent or avoid impacts (this involves pre-study to predict these potential
impacts); then to minimise and reduce any unavoidable impacts; and then to repair or restore any
unavoidable adverse effects. Any significant residual effects should where possible be addressed via
„offset‟ in order to achieve „no net loss‟. If an offset is not possible, some other form of compensation
may be needed.
Examples of good practice
1) Aviation, radar, and wind tur bines. While not strictly an environmental or social problem, this
example is instructive in its effective approach to an issue with similar consequences for the
wind ener gy development and planning process.
The problem: The aviation industry and in particular their radar operations are often affected by the
development of Wind Farms. In Scotland in 2009 it was established that 1,251 tur bines spread
between 68 developments were being held up in the planning system by actual or likely primar y radar
based objections.
The solution: The South-West Scotland Regional Aviation Solution Group was set up under the
leadership of the Scottish Government Ener gy Consents Unit as a sub-group of the Aviation Advisory
Panel in early2009 with the following terms of reference:
“…The remit and pur pose of the group is to investigate the development and application of a regional
solution in the south west of Scotland and this endeavour will be concentrated where it is likely to free
up the most MW of electricity by the alleviation of aviation objections…”
After the technical and operational constraints of each of the individual air traffic providers was taken
into account it was determined that, with the addition of a single new radar, it should be possible to
remove radar-based objections to up to 1,033 of the 1,251 turbines. The additional radar is now in
construction.
The success of this approach was in the Scottish Government‟s decisiveness in dealing with the issue
and in the joint willingness of all involved to find solutions and move forward. T his example is easily
transferable to many environmental/social issues and copies of the reports of this group are readily
available6.
2) Environmental impacts of offshore windfarms in Denmar k.
The problem: almost no data on the effect of offshore windfarms at the inception of development in
Denmark
The solution: a comprehensive programme of research and monitoring based on the BACI approach.
This has yielded much important information, is ongoing (as some impacts may develop/reduce over
time), and is generally recognized as a leading example of Good Practice in the field.
3) Mitigation. Vulture collisions in Spain.
The problem: A large number of deaths of soaring bir ds, par ticularly griffon vultures Gyps fulvus, at
wind farms both in northern Spain (over 2500 collisions G. fulvus recorded), and the Tarifa wind farm
lying across a major bird migration r oute at the Strait of Gibraltar in southern Spain (over 800 G.
fulvus collisions). In the north this led to the shutting down of a number of tur bines with consequent
economic loss in addition to the environmental problem created. These problems arose in part
because of a lack of adequate monitoring before the tur bines were constr ucted, leading to siting in
places with high levels of vulture activity. In accordance with the mitigation hierarchy, it is preferable
to avoid causing such impacts by e.g. building in areas where there is little vulture activity, and/or by
micrositing of turbines (see TCS1). As it was too late in this case to avoid serious impacts, attempts to
minimize and reduce those impacts were the only course available.
The solution: In northern Spain, a study of vulture behaviour leading to intervention to attempt to
change flight patterns through a) removing a large attractive food source (a r ubbish dump) near a
turbine array; and b) establishing alternative food sources („vulture restaurants‟) at safe locations.
These measures appear have had partial success in reducing mortality levels since they were
instituted (Camiña 2011). In souther n Spain, selective shutting dow n of certain turbines at par ticular
times of high collision probability produced a 49% reduction in casualties (Muñoz et al 2011). In both
cases success is only partial and avoidance through alternative siting would have been preferable.
4) Mitigation. Habitat offsets for golden eagles at Beinn an T uirc , Scotland.
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The problem: Construction of a windfarm w hich would be a potential danger to golden eagles if not
avoided, and/or depriving a pair of a large part of their foraging range if avoided.
The solution: A habitat offset was created to provide more suitable foraging range, by felling a dense
stand of non-native plantation conifers near the wind farm site and within the eagle home range.
Initial results are promising, with the eagles avoiding the wind farm area and utilizing the habitat
offset.
5) Mitigation. Aviation lights on turbine towers.
The problem: the lights required on turbines (and similar structures such as communication towers)
for aviation safety in most jurisdictions can attract migrating birds and cause high levels of collisions
at night or in poor weather.
The solution Gehring et al. 2009 report research which suggests that using only flashing lights can
greatly reduce collision danger with communication towers, by 51-70%. This should also apply to
lights on turbine towers. Results reported in the paper also indicate that turbines with only flashing
red lights (ie no „always on‟ lights) do not have more fatalities than tur bines with no lighting. This
mitigation measure is also ver y inexpensive to implement.
Examples of lessons learnt
At Mount Panachanaikos, Greece, the EIAs developed before the construction of two wind farms
proved to have core failures in describing the changes to the natural environment which would be
caused, as well as in the assessment of other potential impacts. T his lead to significant social strains
in the local community, as the negative impacts, which were significant, were largely borne by groups
not directly benefitting from the development.
As a result a programme measuring medium to long-term impacts on the environment was instituted
involving
aerial reconnaissance and satellite photography, constantly updated to monitor effects over
time
topographic, geological, ecological, hydr ological maps and orthophotomaps,
mapping of habitats and vegetation, and
mapping of land use.
It was essential to establish an initial baseline, w hich records the situation when the monitoring
began, and serves as the basis by w hich all future changes will be assessed. It w ould have been
greatly preferable had this work been done pre-constr uction. From the post-hoc monitoring
programme it is already evident that
one of the main impacts on the environment and eco-systems was the extensive constr uction
of roads to facilitate the construction phase of the wind farm and servicing of tur bines,
including erosion caused by poor siting and constr uction.
the movement of one or more wind turbines from sensitive habitats or ecosystems
(micrositing) could have had significant positive effects.
Implications for policy and pract ice
The Scottish Government‟s hands-on approach was, in their view, necessar y as they
considered that left alone the industry would have struggled to come to agreement as to a
way forward on a similar timescale as the timescale in fact achieved. For lar ge-scale problems
common to many sites, a common solution arrived at by stakeholders - with or without formal
gover nment intervention - may be the most effective technique, rather than repeated
piecemeal site-by-site approaches to the same problem.
A properly planned appr oach to scoping and monitoring on the BACI principle, as used in
Denmark, is a proven method of improving windpower planning outcomes w hile avoiding
most environmental problems, so reducing the cost of development and increasing levels of
social acceptance.
Mitigation measures which are pre-planned, such as at Beinn a‟Tuirc in Scotland, appear to be
more successful than those w hich are attempted post-hoc when a (relatively inexpensive)
prestudy would have revealed the problem in advance, such as in northern and southern
Spain.
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Bibliography and web links
1. M. Wolsink, “T he social impact of a large wind tur bine”, Environ Impact Assess Rev 8 (1988),
pp.323–334.
2. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industr y/Energy/Infrastructure/Energy
Consents/Applications-Database
3. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/planning/Local-Planning/authorities/perth
kinross
4. S. Valentine, “Sheltering wind power projects from tempestuous community concerns”, Energy for
Sustainable Development 15 (2011), pp.109–114.
5. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industr y/Energy/Infrastructure/EnergyConsents/Guidance/Radar-Repor t
Camiña, A.. 2011. T he effect of wind farms on vultures in nor thern Spain: fatalities behaviour and
correction measures. Conference on wind energy and wildlife impacts, Trondheim, May 2011.
http://cww2011.nina.no/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=F8Wp4j GLNQs%3d&tabid=3989
Muñoz, A.-R., Ferrer, M., de Lucas, M. & Casado, E. 2011. Raptor mor tality in wind farms of southern
Spain: mitigation measures on a major migration bottleneck area. Conference on wind energy and
wildlife impacts, Trondheim, May 2011.
http://cww2011.nina.no/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=IP4gOyIFAKc%3d&tabid=3989
Gehring, J. Kerunger P. & Manville P. 2009. Communication towers, lights, and birds: successful
methods of reducing the frequency of avian collisions. Ecological Applications 19: 505–514.
http://www.esajournals.or g/doi/pdf/10.1890/07-1708.1