Energy

To simplify the EIA process associated with the consenting of marine renewable projects, the UK’s National Standard Body, BSI (British Standards Institution) and Innovate UK have commissioned ABPmer to facilitate the development of a document which compiles existing guidance and makes recommendations for best practice. The aim of this document is to help streamline the complicated EIA process and to get more demonstration and project scale developments in the water.

The UK Government and devolved administrations are committed to a significant expansion in electricity generation from renewable energy sources, including offshore renewable energy. As a result there are large scale developments in the planning domain for offshore wind and more recently wave and tidal devices. These projects have the potential to give rise to significant effects on the environment, and so many will require an EIA to be carried out as part of the licensing agreement.

Stephen Hull, Technical Director at ABPmer said: ‘’We are thrilled to be working with BSI and Innovate UK on a project to help the consenting process of Offshore renewables in the UK. ABPmer is held in high regard by developers and regulators for the scientific advice we offer in support of environmental impact, mitigation and monitoring and we are using this considerable experience to help BSI publish a document aimed at both developers and regulators’’.

ABPmer is a recognised provider of environmental assessments and has been supporting the offshore renewables sector with technical and scientific research and studies for more than a decade.

The company’s specialist knowledge has been applied to the majority of offshore wind developments, marine renewable studies and Habitat Regulation Assessments (HRAs) for both Marine Scotland and The Crown Estate including the most recent wave and tidal leasing round for test and demonstration sites across the entire UK.