Greening Blue Energy - BioTools For Business

3.3.1 European legislation
The EU EIA legislation provides the minimum
requirements that a Member state should demand
from a developer during the life cycle of a project.
The complete information required is also determined
by the national law and conventions to
which the country has signed.
The EU has several relevant legislations that relate
to nature conservation and the protection of specific
species and habitats (e.g. EU Habitats and Species
Directive (92/43/EEC)) as well as EIA [Directive
85/337/EEC] and SEA [Directive 2001/42/EC]. Additionally,
the implementation of the Marine Strategy
Framework Directive [Directive 2008/56/EC] is
expected to facilitate the EIA process for offshore
wind energy projects and other offshore renewable
energy developments.
Further information is available in Annexe 2.
3.3.2 World Bank requirements
The World Bank Group (WBG) and the International
Finance Corporation (IFC) provide a set of guidelines
to be followed to access financial resources
for large-scale projects. According to the WBG/IFC
guidelines, an EIA for an offshore wind farm project
is required to list and describe all significant environmental
impacts, including those that are:
• unavoidable and irreversible
• positive and negative
• direct and indirect
• long-term and short-term
• cumulative
WBG/IFC also requires an analysis of possible alternative
investment or policy options. This should
include strategies in terms of environmental costs
and benefits, coupled with a mitigation plan. Recommendations
and guidance on the necessary
stages that should be followed to meet the requirements
for both assessments are provided by WBG/
IFC.
WBG/IFC further specifies that offshore renewable
energy projects should include a plan for Environmental
Management and Training, Environmental
Monitoring and Public Consultation actions.
3.3.3 Guidance from government and
industry
While this guidance presents information on the
latest scientific information related to impacts on
the marine environment of offshore wind energy
development, other guidance materials that have
been developed by government or industry bodies
should also be considered when seeking broader
information on wind farms and their environmental
impacts. Specific information on environmen-
tal impact assessment processes and monitoring
methods are provided in a number of other documents.
Examples include:
• Nature Conservation Guidelines on Offshore
Wind Farm Development – DEFRA 2005
• OSPAR Guidance on Environmental Consideration
for Offshore Wind Farm Development –
OSPAR 2008
• Best Practice Guidelines for the Irish Wind
Energy Industry – IWEA 2008
• EU Draft Guidelines on Wind Energy Development
and EU Nature Conservation Requirements
– EU Commission (in prep.)
Identifying and managing biodiversity risks and opportunities of offshore renewable energy - GREENING BLUE ENERGY 11
Impact
Assessment