Draft National Wind Farm Development Guidelines - July 2010

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All of the above is generally applicable to the effects of a single wind farm on bird and bat populations and to the cumulative effects of multiple wind farms. D.2.2 Issues not addressed in the Guidelines These Guidelines are focussed on potential impacts of wind farms on birds and bats. Primarily, this is because birds and bats fly and have some potential for collisions with wind turbines. Thus the Guidelines do not cover more generic potential effects of wind farms on terrestrial fauna and flora as these are considered to be similar to those of other comparable developments and guidance for their assessment is provided elsewhere by relevant authorities and must be considered on a site-by-site basis in the planning phase of a wind farm. For the same reason, the Guidelines provide limited coverage of straightforward loss of habitat for birds and bats that a wind farm may entail. At present, off-shore wind farms have not been developed in Australia and the Guidelines cover only on-shore facilities. D.2.3 Related documents and standards Mandatory regulations for assessment of matters related to birds and bats for wind farms apply in a number of Australian jurisdictions. The present Guidelines are designed to compliment relevant legislative requirements and guidance documents provided by relevant authorities. The following legislation and government policies specifically relating to the issue are current as at mid 2009: • International Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (the Bonn Convention) and its Resolution 7.5 Wind Turbines and Migratory Species (2002). Australia’s principal mechanism to meet its obligations as a signatory to the Bonn Convention is the provisions of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 for migratory species. • Australia (Commonwealth) Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and EPBC Act Policy Statement 2.3 Wind Farm Industry (DEWHA 2008) • New South Wales NSW Wind Energy Handbook (Sustainable Energy Development Authority NSW 2002) • South Australia Planning Bulletin – Wind Farms – Draft for Consultation (Dept. of Planning & Local Govt. S.A. 2002) • Tasmania General Guidelines for the preparation of a Development Proposal and Environmental Management Plan for Wind Energy Projects (Environment Division, DPIWE 2004) • Victoria Policy and Planning Guidelines for Development of Wind Energy Facilities in Victoria (Dept. of Planning & Community Development revised 2009) Planning and Environment Act 1987 Model Permit Conditions (released 2008) of Planning and Environment Regulations 2005 Guidelines for bat surveys in relation to wind farm developments (Draft 2007, prepared by Dr L. Lumsden, Dept. of Sustainability & Environment Vic.) Page 116 Draft National Wind Farm Development Guidelines – 2 July 2010
Guidelines for the Assessment of Potential Windfarm Impacts on the Brolga (Draft 2009 Dept. of Sustainability & Environment Vic.) • Western Australia Guidelines for Wind Farm Development Planning Bulletin No. 67 (Western Australian Planning Commission 2004) The former Australian Wind Energy Association (now incorporated into the Clean Energy Council) produced Wind Farms and Birds: Interim Standards For Risk Assessment (AusWind 2005). The Interim Standards have provided a voluntary code for the wind energy sector. They recommend a risk-tiered approach, whereby assessment becomes more intense with increased potential for impacts. They are confined to assessment for birds, are somewhat prescriptive and do not offer a flexible scope for adaptation to new and advancing technologies for use in assessments. They have provided a foundation for further development of the present Guidelines. A substantial literature on the subject exists and has been reviewed in preparation of these Guidelines. A selected pertinent bibliography is provided in Section D.8. D.3 Overview of the Methodology The process for evaluation of bird and bat issues for wind farms is set out as a sequence of phases. Each phase has a fundamental question to be answered. Once a given question is answered it provides the basis for whether the impact assessment investigation needs to proceed to the subsequent phase. This process provides a tiered or incremental approach to evaluation of risks. For the purposes of these Guidelines the development and operation of a wind farm is considered according to five development stages. These are: • Project Feasibility • Planning Application • Construction • Operation • Decommissioning. Table D-1 shows the bird and bat assessment phases for each of these stages. The phases and their questions for the feasibility stage of a wind farm development are set out in the following decision flow-chart (Figure D-1). Section D.4 provides detailed guidance to the stages of a wind farm. Section D.5 provides information about cumulative effects of wind farms on key bird and bat taxa. Section D.7 offers further information about some methods and techniques that have been used to investigate birds and bats at wind farms. It should be noted that, while Section D.7 provides information about some survey methods used to inform impact assessment studies, it is not the intent of these Guidelines to be prescriptive about methods to be used. Flexibility in specifics of research design and technologies that may be used to obtain the requisite data is vital to allow for particulars of taxa and sites and to permit adaptability to emerging technologies and techniques. The most important aspect is that bird and bat studies at various wind farm sites are quantified to standard measures and that appropriate statistical approaches and analyses are used. Statistical tests such as power analyses are valuable in design of investigations to ensure they are both efficient and have capacity to answer questions about effects on birds or bats. The design of studies and interpretation of their results should be provided by individuals with relevant expertise and knowledge of the standards to be achieved. Over the course of a wind farm development, the focus of the bird and bat studies changes. In the period prior to commissioning of a wind farm investigations are designed to ascertain what effects the wind farm might have on birds and bats, while monitoring of Draft National Wind Farm Development Guidelines – 2 July 2010 Page 117
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EPHC National Wind Farm Development
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Acknowledgements These Guidelines h
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A.6.1 Site selection 28 A.6.2 Proje
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E.7 Technical discussion of key con
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The 20/20 target is challenging; ho
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Table 1-1 Elements of a ‘wind far
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2 Principles for responsible wind f
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3 Wind Farm Specific Issues The spe
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Specific noise limits are not provi
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3.5 Shadow flicker The issue Shadow
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Guidance notes Heritage issues are
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Table 4-1 Typical decision process
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The studies and community consultat
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A Community and Stakeholder Consult
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• Responsive There is a comm
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Figure A-1 IAP2 Public Participatio
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Specific components which should be
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Figure A-2 Example of Good Practice
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Recording the occurrence and outcom
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A.6.6 Decommissioning Planning & Co
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Potential Stakeholders Consultation
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B Noise B.1 Introduction This Appen
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the converse. These Guidelines reco
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The Standard should form the basis
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Stage and methodology Construction
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Other noise-sensitive uses such as
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Table B-2 Existing state and territ
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Establish background noise monitori
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As noted in Section 6.3.1 of AS4959
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predicted levels are significantly
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Prepare expert evidence (as require
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Undertake unattended monitoring to
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assessment of wind farm noise emiss
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B.4.5 Decommissioning Noise-related
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If a significant amount of time has
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Page 77 and 78: The HGC Engineering report 10 also
Page 79 and 80: C Landscape C.1 Introduction This A
Page 81 and 82: • Cumulative impacts “Cumulativ
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Page 85 and 86: C.3 Task Methodologies C.3.1 Projec
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Page 89 and 90: The preliminary landscape character
Page 91 and 92: • Identifying and describing (in
Page 93 and 94: Advanced photomontages should also
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Page 97 and 98: C.4.2.4 Assessment of cumulative im
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Page 101 and 102: Figure C-2 IBRA mapping of Australi
Page 103 and 104: Table C-4 Mapping of landscape char
Page 105 and 106: C.7.2 Levels of significance What a
Page 107 and 108: Consider ‘Supporting Evidence’
Page 109 and 110: information available for other sit
Page 111 and 112: Figure C-4 Example of viewshed mapp
Page 113 and 114: Figure C-6 Example of photomontages
Page 115 and 116: communicate broad-scale ideas and p
Page 117 and 118: Table C-5 Mapping other wind farms
Page 119 and 120: C.7.9 Glossary & acronyms Australia
Page 121: Viewpoint The point from which a vi
Page 124 and 125: D.1.2 Underlying approach The under
Page 128 and 129: the operational wind farm is aimed
Page 130 and 131: D.4 Task methodologies D.4.1 Site S
Page 132 and 133: area as it was not collected accord
Page 134 and 135: used throughout these Guidelines as
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Page 140 and 141: construction phase are identified d
Page 142 and 143: Searches for dead birds and bats ar
Page 144 and 145: D.5 Cumulative impacts D.5.1 Defini
Page 146 and 147: in the absence of any turbine colli
Page 148 and 149: that it was first observed. Where m
Page 150 and 151: e the case that assessment for bats
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Page 154 and 155: Percival, S.M. 2003, Birds and wind
Page 157 and 158: E Shadow Flicker E.1 Introduction T
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Page 173: as the actual limit, rather than th
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likely to be obstructed. Radiocommu
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Licensed radiocommunications servic
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Figure F-1 EMI mitigation methodolo
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F.4 Task methodologies F.4.1 Projec
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Expected timeframe for evaluation r
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The near field zone can be calculat
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Develop mitigation strategy As a st
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aseline RF survey which involves th
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G Wind Farm Development Process G.1
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Project Sub-stages Activities to be
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Preliminary Technical Studies Issue
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Planning application (PA2) The plan
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Develop mitigation strategy Finalis
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Environmental Management Plans Issu
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Monitoring: confirmation (O3) Confi
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Decommissioning (D2) Once a decisio
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Draft National Wind Farm Development Guidelines - July 2010

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