Offshore wind farms around the Scottish coast are set to play a key role in Scotland’s green energy strategy.
The wind turbines will help the Scottish Government to meet its target of generating 20 per cent of all energy and 50 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
Halcrow was commissioned to identify a range of suitable sites and to provide a wide-ranging assessment of the environmental impact of developing those sites. The findings will inform the public consultation process.
We drew on our expertise in strategic environmental assessment (SEA), marine renewables, marine ecology and marine planning throughout the assessment process. Our extensive GIS experience helped us to produce detailed maps which identified potential development sites and took account of environmental, military and navigational constraints.
Working with a number of key partners, including specialists in sea mammal expertise and maritime archaeology, we produced three outputs:
- offshore wind development plan
- strategic environmental assessment of the development plan
- habitat regulations assessment pre-screening
Our findings have provided the foundations to develop a high quality and achievable plan that will help to shape the direction for offshore wind development in Scottish territorial waters.