Limestone Quarry Wind Farm Non-technical summary

Transcription

1 Limestone Quarry Wind Farm Non-technical summary

2 Introduction Waste Recycling Group (WRG) Ltd is seeking permission to construct and operate an eight turbine wind farm at one of its quarry sites in West Yorkshire. The Proposed Development is called Limestone Quarry Wind Farm. The wind farm development would be situated at the existing Darrington quarry and closed landfill site, which is located 1.8km south of Knottingley and approximately 2.7km northeast of Darrington, near Pontefract. This document is a Non-Technical Summary of the Environmental Statement (ES), which accompanies the planning application for Limestone Quarry Wind Farm. The Environmental Statement reports on the findings of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which considers the likely environmental effects of the proposed development resulting from its construction, operation and future removal. Where possible any foreseeable adverse impacts on the environment are avoided, but where this is unrealistic, ways to minimise adverse impacts are proposed where possible. Copies of all the planning application documents, including the ES, are available for review during normal opening hours at the following Council Office addresses: Planning Services, Wakefield District Council, Newton Bar, Leeds Road, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF1 2TX. Planning Offices, Selby District Council, Civic Centre, Portholme Road, Selby, North Yorkshire, YO8 4SB. A copy of the ES may be purchased in printed form for 100, or in digital form on a CD for 10, by writing to either of the addresses above. If you wish to comment on the ES, you can write to either of the addresses above within a time period to be specified by Selby and Wakefield Councils.

3 Background and Site Selection Currently, around 200 megawatts (MW) of electricity is generated at WRG s operational and closed landfill sites across the UK, using the methane-rich landfill gas. They also operate two Energy from Waste plants; one which exports energy in the form of electricity and one which exports energy in the form of steam. WRG is now looking at other ways of generating renewable energy on their land holdings. In 2005, WRG undertook a review of 142 sites that they owned across the UK to determine their suitability to generate wind energy. They considered aspects such as: Indicative wind speeds at each site; How close the site was to residential properties, roads and railways; How close the site was to the main electricity grid; How easy it would be to bring turbines to site and construct them; The potential to interfere with air traffic control radars and military low flying zones/ training areas; The proximity to international and national designated sites for nature conservation, heritage and landscape. Following an initial review of sites against these criteria, further assessments were made to assess the sites in more detail. Following these detailed studies, eleven sites were selected to be taken forward. The Proposed Development at Limestone Quarry was one of the sites recommended to be taken forward, based on: Good wind resource; Size of the build area, with the possibility of positioning turbines at safe distances from housing and major infrastructure. Lack of nature conservation designations on site; Good access to site (near the M62 corridor); Proximity to a potential grid connection point.

4 Site Location and Description The site of the Proposed Development is located (from the centre of the site) approximately 1.8km south of Knottingley and approximately 2.7km northeast of Darrington, near Pontefract in West Yorkshire. The approximate National Grid Reference for the centre of the site is SE The location of the site is shown in Figure 1 below. Figure 1 Limestone Quarry site The total area of the Proposed Development (the area within the planning application red line boundary) is approximately 25ha. This is approximately 13% of the existing Limestone Quarry site (which is approximately 188ha in total size). The site is currently partly owned and partly leased by WRG. It contains an operational limestone quarry and a closed landfill site. Some excavated areas have been infilled with controlled wastes. These areas are now full and have been restored. Other areas (within the central and southern excavations) have been used for the deposition of quarry wastes from the site. There are also areas that have been used as silt lagoons (which store waste wash water generated by the quarry processing area), which have either been restored or will be restored in the near future.

5 The Proposed Development Limestone Quarry Wind Farm would consist of the following: eight wind turbine generators, to a maximum tip height of 125m, to be built on areas within the quarry site; construction of turbine foundations, a stable base for the turbines to stand on; hardstanding areas adjacent to each turbine; created initially for the crane to stand on to install the turbine, but left in place for maintenance and decommissioning; construction of a substation housing the wind farm s electrical equipment and control room; installation of underground cabling to connect the wind turbines to the substation, including power, communications and monitoring cables; construction of new, and upgrading of existing, vehicle tracks on the quarry site to allow delivery of the crane and turbine components and to allow access to the turbines once they are operational; widening the two existing quarry site entrances on Stubbs Lane, including vegetation clearance and surface strengthening to allow construction traffic onto the site; creation of a new entrance on Leys Lane to obtain access to Turbine 6, through clearance of a section of hedgerow; and installation of a temporary construction compound for contractor welfare facilities, materials storage and construction plant. A temporary meteorological mast has already been installed at the site. The mast will be present on site for a period of up to 24 months (up to August 2012). Figures 2 and 3 show the proposed layout of the wind farm.

6 The Proposed Development Figure 2 Location of Turbines The initial layout of the wind farm took into account: Landfill areas, predominantly to the western and southern sections of the site; the philosophy being no turbines would be located on landfilled waste; The M62 motorway corridor, directly adjacent and to the north of the site. A standoff distance of at least 140m from the motorway was assigned for safety purposes; Residential properties located in all directions in the vicinity of the site, so that turbines would be positioned no closer than 600m to any occupied buildings; The railway line to the east of the site; again a standoff distance of more than 140m was assigned for safety purposes; and Turbine spacing to ensure that there is adequate separation to avoid wind shadowing from upstream turbines (generally between four and six times the turbine diameter, so in this case between 360m and 540m). The distances described above are based on Government guidance (Planning Policy Statement 22). Alternative layouts are limited due to the nature of the site and the physical constraints that it presents, but some changes have been made. For example, the location of Turbine 8 was changed to avoid interfering with a British Telecom link and also to move it away from the bridleway which is located to the east of the site (in recognition of the British Horse Association s recommended stand off distance of 200m).

7 Figure 3 Proposed Wind Farm Layout Design The precise final locations of turbines and the design of the foundations on which they are built will depend on the ground conditions that are encountered. Therefore it may be necessary to micro-site elements of the Proposed Development infrastructure (i.e. change the location of turbines and hardstanding slightly to a location with more suitable ground conditions) after ground investigations have been undertaken. The turbines will not be moved by more than 35m in any direction as part of this micro-siting process.

8 Consultation Prior to undertaking the EIA, a Scoping exercise was undertaken. Scoping involved the identification of the environmental issues that are potentially significant, when considering the nature of the Proposed Development, and those issues that are not. This exercise was presented to the Local Authorities (and other consultees identified by the Local Authorities) for their agreement on the issues to be assessed, along with the proposed approach to undertaking the EIA (the formal collated response from the Local Authority being the scoping opinion ). In terms of public consultation, WRG has written to more than 75 organisations and individuals to advise them of its proposal and offer a briefing. These include parish and district councils, local businesses, schools and residents. The company has held liaison meetings with local stakeholders and residents and has also attended local Parish Council meetings. All the queries raised at the Parish Council meetings were noted by the WRG representatives attending and formal responses have been supplied. In addition, a public exhibition was held on the 2nd November 2010 at the Mid Yorkshire Golf Club in Darrington, at which members of the public were invited to view the development proposals and provide comments. The exhibition was advertised in advance, a press release with venue and opening times was circulated to 18 local and regional newspapers, and a letter with exhibition details was sent out to local councils and other stakeholders. Summary of the key issues Based on consultation with the Local Authority and the wider public, the following key issues have been addressed in the ES: Planning Policy; Landscape and Visual Impact; Shadow Flicker; Noise and Vibration; Community and Socio Economics; Cultural Heritage (Archaeology and Built Heritage); Access, Transport and Traffic; Electromagnetic Interference and Aviation; Ecology; Geology and Hydrogeology; and Other Issues (including waste management, blade throw, ice throw, fire/flame spread, methane gas risks and general health and safety). The cumulative effects of the Proposed Development and other nearby developments that have been consented have also been considered. The Landscape and Visual assessment has considered other wind farm developments within a 30km radius of the site. The following sections of this document summarise the findings of the environmental assessments that have been undertaken.

9 Planning Policy The proposed development was assessed alongside National, Regional and Local Planning Polices to determine whether it would conflict with the relevant policies or not. One of the key issues is that the Proposed Development is located in Green Belt (a Planning Policy Designation). Government Policy states that the fundamental aim of Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open; the most important attribute of Green Belts is their openness. Due to the nature of the development, the openness of the area is maintained because the spacing of the turbines enables existing long distance views to be retained. Furthermore it is considered that the production of energy through a sustainable wind resource sufficiently outweighs the moderate / minor adverse harm to the Green Belt. Landscape and Visual Effects The landscape assessment considered the impact of the Proposed Development on the local Landscape Character Areas, namely the Limestone Escarpment and the West Selby Ridge. The assessment predicts a moderate / minor impact on these local landscape characters, taking into account the urban and industrial nature of the area. Impacts on national character areas are not significant and no nationally designated landscape areas would be affected. The visual assessment reported that farmsteads, limited residential dwellings and people using rights of way in close proximity of the site would experience a major adverse effect on visual amenity during the operation of the proposed development. Residents in the southern extents of Knottingley and residents in Cridling Stubbs, East Darrington and Whitely with direct views of the Proposed Development would experience major to moderate adverse impacts on visual amenity. Moving further from the site views become mid to long distance, and the magnitude of visual impacts reduces. Shadow Flicker Shadow Flicker is a phenomenon that may occur when the rotating blade of a wind turbine casts a shadow across a window. The shadow may appear to flicker when viewed from within the room as the turbine blades rotate and the shadow flicks on and off. Shadow Flicker may occur at different times of day and year depending on the position of the dwelling relative to the wind turbine as well as the frequency of sunshine hours and proportion of daylight hours that the turbine is operating. Impacts of shadow flicker incidents have been predicted using specialist computer modelling techniques. The assessment indicates that shadow flicker may occur at houses to the north of the Proposed Development. The occurrence of such incidents is however predicted to be rare, happening only during very specific conditions (depending on the time of day and the weather). If such nuisance occurs, measures can be implemented to counteract the effects, including programming turbines to switch off or incorporating screening measures. These measures would completely negate the potential impacts, so shadow flicker impacts would be negligible. Noise and Vibration Noise during construction and decommissioning would be controlled through best practice measures. During operation, the noise assessment predicts noise levels to be below the guideline values at all properties in the vicinity of the site, so no significant noise effects are likely. Concerns have been raised by local residents about the potential health effects arising from infrasound or low frequency noise (sound at frequencies below 20Hz) generated by wind turbines. Research undertaken on this issue has identified no evidence of health effects occurring as a result of wind farm operations. Amplitude Modulation (noise caused by turbulent air flow) is not expected to be a significant issue for this site. Ground-borne vibration from turbine operation is not significant.

10 Community and Socioeconomics Construction/decommissioning of the wind farm would lead to employment opportunities for local companies and suppliers. Staff would also be required to monitor operations and undertake maintenance activities during operation. The potential number of people that could be employed is considered to have a slight positive impact. In terms of amenity and recreation, there are public rights of way in the vicinity of the site and a bridleway runs to the east. The public right of way would not be affected by the proposed development. For the interests of safety and security however, access to the turbines and infrastructure would be for authorised personnel only. Turbines are located more than 200m away from the bridleway to the east of the site, to take account of the British Horse Association s recommendations. Research undertaken in the ES indicates that construction of the wind farm is not likely to have a significant impact on tourism in the area. Cultural Heritage The Proposed Development would have an impact on the setting of the Scheduled Ancient Monument at Pontefract Castle and on the setting of the historic hill fort to the north of Norton, because the wind turbines would be visible from these features. The setting of the castle has already been substantially impacted by the construction of Ferrybridge power station and its surrounding residential and light industrial development during the 20th century. It is most likely that archaeological deposits across the site have been removed by previous quarrying activities, although there is the potential to uncover archaeological remains in the vicinity of Turbine 6. Investigations would be undertaken during the stripping of soils in this area. Access, Traffic and Transport Access to the site would be obtained via the existing entrances, although a new entrance would need to be created on Leys Lane to access Turbine 6. Traffic impacts are expected mainly during the construction phase, in particular for eight days over the nine month period where a significant number of HGVs would be routed to and from the site (during concrete pour days). However, on average temporary increase in traffic occurring close to sensitive areas would not be greater than 10%. Most construction traffic would access the site via the A1. Abnormal loads carrying the turbine parts are likely to be routed via the A19. To accommodate the abnormal loads, temporary road closures, some verge strengthening works and some street furniture relocation on route to the site on exit from the M62 would be required. Telecommunications and Aviation A number of telecommunication links (operated by Northern Gas Networks, Yorkshire Electrical Distribution Network and British Telecom) were identified as being close to or crossing the site. Each link has an associated buffer zone in order to protect its performance. The BT links have been avoided through turbine micro-siting and removal of one of the links. Solutions to ensure the integrity of the gas and electricity telecommunication links have been identified and are currently being explored with the operators. Consultation with aviation bodies also identified the potential for interference with radar operations (including radar at Robin Hood Airport and the National Air Traffic Services navigation system). Potential solutions have been determined; the most appropriate solution (to be agreed with the operator) would be implemented prior to operation of the wind farm. Grove Hall is identified as a grade II listed building, which is located approximately 600m from the nearest turbine. Although the setting of the building has been substantially altered by the erection of modern industrial buildings and construction of the A1(M) and M62, the proximity of the turbines would have a significant impact on the historical and aesthetic setting of the building.

11 Ecology Surveys have been undertaken at the site to identify habitats and the potential presence of protected species, including bats, reptiles and birds. A low level of bat activity was recorded and grass snakes were identified on site. Bird surveys identified species such as buzzard, golden plover, kestrel, lapwing, mallard, snipe and sparrowhawk. The potential impact on birds during the operation of the wind farm has been analysed by undertaking Collision Risk modelling. The analysis showed that the collision risk associated with all key species is within an acceptable range, meaning that there is not anticipated to be a significant impact on these species at population level. New areas of open water (e.g. silt lagoons which currently attract the high collision risk species) are not to be created within 300m of the turbines, to ensure that birds are not encouraged to fly close to the turbines. Impacts are therefore limited to effects on breeding birds and displacement (i.e. not using the immediate area because of disturbance caused by the turbines). Mitigation measures would be in place during construction to reduce the impact on reptiles and breeding birds. A bird monitoring plan would be undertaken post construction, which would be agreed with Natural England and the RSPB. Such measures ensure that the impact on ecological features is not significant. Geology and Hydrogeology The site is located in an area classified as a Principal Aquifer, which is associated with the limestone formation. Quarrying at the site has however removed the effective aquifer in parts. For turbines that require piled foundations there is a risk of creating a contamination pathway into the groundwater, but employing best practice measures during piling would minimise this risk. No turbines would be located on waste. At one particular location the turbine is located relatively close to a landfill cell. The location of the engineered liner would be tested during initial ground investigations to ensure that piling would not impact on the integrity of the liner. Excavations at some turbine locations may be deep enough to interact with groundwater, in which case excavations would require dewatering. The groundwater would be collected and disposed of by methods to be agreed with the Environment Agency. Waste Creation and Safety Most excavation and soils wastes created during construction would be reused or disposed of on site. Any hazardous wastes would be collected, stored and disposed of appropriately in accordance with legislation. Consultation with local residents highlighted their concerns over safety issues such as the potential for blade throw, ice throw and fire. Regular maintenance and condition monitoring of the turbines would minimise the risk of such phenomena occurring. Risks of fire associated with methane gas from the adjacent landfill would be minimised through incorporating gas protection measures into structures such as the turbine tower and the substation to reduce the risk of gas accumulation. Health and safety risk assessments would be undertaken prior to construction to ensure there are no risks to construction workers.

12 Conclusions The proposed wind farm at Darrington lies outside of any international and national designations for landscape and there are no statutory ecological or cultural heritage designations in the vicinity of the site. The proposed site is close to the strategic road network and is located in an area that has previously been quarried and landfilled, which maximises the use of Brownfield land. In addition, the land surrounding the turbines can still be used for other activities such as quarrying or agriculture. The majority of the significant issues raised within the impact assessment can be addressed by planning measures at detailed design and by implementing practical measures during construction and operation, in order to offset the identified impacts. The identified significant adverse impacts predicted on the immediate local community in terms of visual amenity are however difficult to mitigate, as are the moderate to minor impacts predicted on Green Belt, local landscape character and some heritage features. Advantages from the Proposed Development also need to be considered, the most important being the delivery of a renewable energy source, which would contribute to the Local Authority s renewable energy targets. The development also helps to achieve targets set out in national planning policy which firmly outline the need to offset climate change, deliver emission cuts and promote renewable energy.