Ecology:Mitigation &

Enhancementfor

Onshore Wind Farms

Rachael IvesonSenior Ecologist

28th March 2014

Overview

My background Ecological consultancy

What we do Legislation Site assessment Environmental Impact Assessment Avoidance, mitigation, compensation and

enhancement Examples

My Background

2003 BSc (Hons) Forensic Science 6 years in pharmaceutical industry 2010 MSc Environmental Studies 3 years working for RPS (UK engineering and

environmental consultancy) 1 year working for dedicated ecology

consultancy, MacArthur Green

Ecology Consultancy – Our Work

Majority = ecological assessment of a site for a proposed development Planning requirement

Monitoring (usually post-consent) Population modelling, collision modelling Advising statutory bodies - guidance

Legislation European

Natura 2000 sites; Birds Directive; Habitats Directive Individual species: otter, GCN, wildcat, bats, adder, golden

eagles, hen harrier, Killarney fern, etc. National

UK: WCA, Protection of Badgers Act Scottish (e.g. water vole)

Statutory Agencies

SNH, SEPA, Marine Scotland Guidance

EU, UK, Scottish Invasive non-native species

Wind Farm – Assessment

Desk based study Field surveys Consultation Ecological

Assessment Significance

Avoidance, Mitigation, Compensation, Enhancement

Avoidance (Design Mitigation)

Results of ecology surveys should feed into the design as early as possible. Infrastructure: turbines, borrow pits, substation,

tracks, lay-down areas, etc. Avoidance – use of buffer zones

Protected features Habitats and water (inc. GWDTEs) Flight paths (birds and bats)

Mitigation

Pre-construction, construction, operation, decommission

Good practice measures

Tailored to habitats/ species/ features present

Species Protection Plans

Compensation

Required when mitigation can not be fully achieved on site, e.g. destruction of a protected feature.

'Like for like' replacement. Example: Otter holt underneath root plate of a tree – required

to be felled

Artificial Otter Holt

Enhancement

Operational Phase – life of wind farm Habitat or Conservation Management Plans

How is this achieved?Planning conditionSteering Group –

agreementMonitoring and reporting

Enhancement

Example: Fairburn Wind Farm

Conservation Management Plan (CMP) Wind Farm consented 2009, commissioned 2010 20 x 1.75MW turbines (35MW generating capacity) Wind farm covers 348 ha CMP covers Fairburn Estate: 4,711 ha (~6x7 km2)

Fairburn Wind Farm CMP – Aims

Mitigation to reduce impacts to raptors – loss of foraging habitat and collision of merlin, hen harrier and red kites

Compensation for loss of semi-natural broadleaved woodland

Enhancement and restoration for native woodland, blanket bog & golden eagle prey

Monitoring

Ensure all Aims are being achieved Programme in CMP:

Vegetation monitoring Bird monitoring Prey monitoring

Conducted periodically Reported to Habitat Management Group

Mark Hill Wind Farm

Existing site in operation Consented 2008, commissioned 2011 28 turbines (56MW generating capacity) Habitat Management Plan Aims: to restore blanket bog and native

woodland (UK BAP species) Baseline – commercial forestry

HMP area extends beyond WF area

Mark Hill Wind Farm – Aims of HMP

Blanket bog restoration and enhancement Native woodland establishment and enhance

existing woodland Habitat enhancement for amphibians and

reptiles Riparian habitat enhancement

Summary

Overview of ecology consultancy in development of wind farms Planning through to operation

Avoidance, mitigation and compensation – 'neutralise' impacts from wind farm

Enhancement – where possible Dependent on land availability, ecology on site,

developer, planning conditions

Future Improvements?

Future enhancement opportunities Objectives and prescriptions – do these need

further scientific rigour? Should enhancement measures be mandatory? How can enhancement appeal to developers -

incentives? Biodiversity offsetting – can a metric be applied to

ecosystem services, that also incorporates social, economic and other environmental factors? Putting a price on the environment Planning system – policies, guidance to LPAs,

enforcement

Any Questions?

If you would like to ask me any other questions please feel free to send me an e-mail:

Rachael.Iveson@gmail.com