Leading international renewable energy consultancy group Natural Power has been selected to provide Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) co-ordination on the proposed Inch Cape 905MW offshore wind farm, being developed by global energy utility Repsol Nuevas Energias UK (Repsol).
Alongside winning the initial contract, Natural Power has also won a tender to provide a marine mammal advisor role to the project team and to provide the marine mammal EIA section.
Inch Cape, set to be part of the suite of wind farms proposed within the Firths of Forth and Tay, is located 15-22km to the east of the Angus coastline in the outer Firth of Tay region, Scottish Waters, and is expected to consist of 180 turbines covering an area of approximately 150km2. Natural Power’s Planning & Development Services team will be providing EIA co-ordination and consent management services while the Ecology & Hydrology team will co-ordinate consultation around the marine mammal EIA process and produce this section of the environmental statement, all on behalf of project developer Repsol.
Giles Dearden, Director of Planning & Development Services at Natural Power said: “We are delighted to have been selected to provide EIA co-ordination on the Inch Cape project. The Repsol team recognise Natural Power’s strength of being reactive to any problems arising with the project while providing full EIA co-ordination. This contract reflects the unique nature of Natural Power and our ability to address multiple disciplines and be problem solving wherever we can. We are looking forward to working with Repsol in the provision of our multi-faceted role for Inch Cape.”
Richard Walls, Director of Ecology & Hydrology at Natural Power commented: “ The award of these two contracts illustrates the close working relationship between the broad range of disciplines within Natural Power and how we work together to provide effective provision for clients. This holistic approach has been very successful across other projects, and we are sure it will prove equally as successful in our provision of services to Respol.”
Martina Gassner, Inch Cape EIA and Consents Manager said: “Thanks to Natural Power, this project has been able to make significant progress with respect to the cumulative studies in the outer Firths of Forth and Tay, which are fundamental to the EIA. This positive start gives us great confidence in Natural Power. They are an important part of the Inch Cape team and we look forward to working with them on the project.”
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Source: naturalpower, October 20, 2011; Image: inchcapewind