Planning and Licensing Procedures for Wind Farms in the South Baltic Region A guide for potential investors

Transcription

1 Planning and Licensing Procedures for Wind Farms in the South Baltic Region A guide for potential investors PROJECT: WIND ENERGY IN THE BALTIC SEA REGION 2 PROGRAM: SOUTH BALTIC PROGRAM DATE: 20 DECEMBER 2011 THIS PROGRAM IS PART FINANCED BY THE SOUTH BALTIC PROGRAM AND THE EUROPEAN UNION.

2 General remarks and overall recommendations The project Wind energy in the BSR 2 investigated how to improve the chances for successful implementation of new wind farm projects and, doing so, had to identify that the planning process that takes place before a project can be implemented is often quite unclear. The guidebook on hand intends to give potential investors a better understanding of how the planning procedures in the countries of the South Baltic Sea Region look like. 2 WIND ENERGY IN THE BSR 2: THE CORPORATE DESIGN MANUAL

3 1 Planning and Licensing Procedures for Wind Farms in Germany Important Legislation Renewable Energy Sources Act (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz EEG): National targets for usage of RES; provisions for grid connection and feed-in tariffs. Regional Planning Act (Raumordnungsgesetz ROG): Provisions for spatial planning at federal-state and regional levels. Federal Building Code (Baugesetzbuch BauGB): Provisions for planning and building at local level. General rules of permissibility of wind turbines in the open countryside. Federal Pollution Control Act (Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetz BImschG): Provisions for licensing of wind turbines higher than 50 metres. Federal Nature Conservation Act (Bundes-Naturschutzgesetz BNatSchG): Provisions for landscape planning, designation of reserve areas and protection of endangered species and habitats. Environmental Impact Assessment Act (Gesetz über die Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung UVPG): Rules for environmental assessment of plans and projects. Planning of wind farm areas Purpose: Comprehensive spatial plans are widely used to concentrate wind farm developments inside designated areas. Preparation of plans is made by public authorities; decision are taken by elected bodies. At local level, preparation can be done in a publicprivate partnership with project developers. Where there are no provisions for wind turbines in a spatial plan, erection of turbines is generally permissible outside built-up areas. Procedure: In most cases, there are two successive consultations of authorities, stakeholders and the general public the first consultation on the outlines of the plan and the scope of environmental investigations, the second consultation on the draft plan. Duration: There is no fixed time frame. Planning procedures take several months at least, and may take several years. Regional Planning: Designation of suitability areas or priority areas for wind turbines on the basis of specific location criteria. Organisation of regional planning bodies and their role and importance in wind power development vary among the 16 federal states of Germany. 3 WIND ENERGY IN THE BSR 2: THE CORPORATE DESIGN MANUAL

4 Local Planning: Designation of special building zones for wind turbines. Local plans are made by local councils. They have to be adjusted to the regional plan. Licensing of wind farm projects Purpose: Licensing is mandatory for wind turbines higher than 50 metres. Licensing shall ensure that no harmful effects on the environment are caused by wind turbines. Licenses are granted by environmental authorities. The licensing procedure comprises all relevant assessments of the project no other permissions are required. Procedure: The licensing authority distributes the application documents to all concerned authorities and obtains their representations. In case of a public consultation, documents are put on display for one month at least. Duration: Licensing authority shall decide within seven months after submission of complete application documents (within three months in case of a simplified procedure). Projects of 20 or more turbines: Full procedure including public consultation and environmental impact assessment. Projects of 3 to 19 turbines: Full procedure is necessary only when a cursory assessment leads to the conclusion that significant negative effects on the environment might be expected; otherwise, simplified procedure without public consultation and without environmental impact assessment applies. Projects of 1 or 2 turbines: Simplified procedure applies. 4 WIND ENERGY IN THE BSR 2: THE CORPORATE DESIGN MANUAL

5 Overview: Planning and Licensing Procedures in Germany Involved Parties Procedural Steps Regional Planning Legal Basis: Spatial Planning Act, State Planning Acts Designation of wind farm areas in regional plans. Consultation procedure is repeated until the plan is ready for decision. State (State governments and authorities, federal authorities)* State Planning Authority: issues recommendations on planning criteria State Authorities, Federal Authorities: submit statements State Government: enacts the regional plan Municipalities (Municipalities, cities, rural districts, municipal associations, public utilities) Regional Planning Body: elaborates draft plan Rural Districts, Cities, Municipalities, Municipal Associations, Public utilities: submit statements Regional Planning Body: considers statements and takes decision on the plan Private Stakeholders (Citizens, private firms and organisations) General Public, Private Firms and Organisations: submit statements Local Planning Legal Basis: Federal Building Code Designation of wind farm areas in land-use plans; designation of turbine locations in sitedevelopment plans. Local plans must be in accordance with provisions made in the regional plan. As in regional planning, consultation procedure is repeated until the plan is ready for decision. State Authorities, Federal Authorities: submit statements Building Authority: enacts the local plan Local Council: elaborates draft plan Neighbouring Communities, Municipal Associations, Public Utilities: submit statements Local Council: considers statements and takes decision on the plan General Public, Private Firms and Organisations: submit statements Licensing Legal Basis: Federal Pollution Control Act Licensing of wind turbines on request of a wind farm developer or turbine operator. When there is no regional or local plan making provisions for wind turbines, general stipulations of the Federal Building Code apply. Wind Farm Developer: investigates, commissions, or negotiates with: Land Owners: right of use Grid Operator: grid connection Turbine Manufacturer: type and delivery of turbines Consultants: calculation of noise and shadow impact, environmental investigations and submits application documents Environmental Authority: distributes application documents State Authorities, Federal Authorities: examine the project on the basis of relevant regulations Local Councils, Public Utilities: examine the project on the basis of local plans, or other relevant regulations General Public: makes representations (mandatory consultation only for projects of 20 or more turbines) 5 WIND ENERGY IN THE BSR 2: THE CORPORATE DESIGN MANUAL

6 Environmental Authority: grants permission and makes additional requirements Wind Farm Developer: erects and commissions wind turbines * Responsibility for onshore wind-farm developments lies mainly with the federal states (Länder). Federal authorities are mainly involved when it comes to military concerns 6 WIND ENERGY IN THE BSR 2: THE CORPORATE DESIGN MANUAL

7 2 The Swedish approval process for wind turbines Introductory remark: The main legislations are The Environmental Code and The Panning and building law. Form a project only need permission according one of the two main laws e.g. a project with a permission according to the Environmental Code don t need a building permit. In practise the fulfilment of both laws are secured through coordination between the responsible authorities. Next chapter describes the porcees for getting approval according to the Environmental Code. Approval process for large scale WT projects (>150 m high or > 7 WTs) The main process is Large Scale project Approval according to the Environmental Code. The County Council coordinates and verifies before giving the final approval check that all applicable approvals has been given. 7 WIND ENERGY IN THE BSR 2: THE CORPORATE DESIGN MANUAL

8 1. Preparations Find location Land lease The map-service at can be used to find suitable locations. The calculated average wind speed at different height as well as existing wind turbines can be found in this tool. In Sweden a land lease agreement for 30 years is most common. Access to land is mandatory in order to apply for permission. The possibilities for grid connections need to be evaluated in this phase. A price indication could be requested for the grid operator. Also to be evaluated are the risk for conflicts with other interests as infrastructure (roads, railroads, airports, harbours), regional/municipality spatial planning, natural preservations. 2. Consultations County Council Municipality other authorities Both regional and local authorities should be consulted early in the process. A good continuous dialogue with the involved authorities is a key success factor. Through these consultations the EIA process is detailed, what consultations would be required, what should be included in the EIA and what other approval would be required. The municipality will decide if detailed spatial plan has to be prepared. Information about the project should (recommendation) be given to people living in the area. 3. EIA process As a third and major step, the applicant should evaluate the environmental impacts in the form of an EIA. The following web guidance: offered by Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) might be helpful to make an adequate EIA. Public consultations and consultations with authorities are a vital part of the EIA process. 8 WIND ENERGY IN THE BSR 2: THE CORPORATE DESIGN MANUAL

9 4. Application After completion of the EIA it is time for the formal submission the application to the County Council. In addition to the EIA the applicant should provide a technical description of the installation, a proposal for monitoring and controlling and finally, a summary. 5. Publication for comments The application and the EIA will be published in the local press and on the internet. The public has the right to comment. Affected authorities are also informed and asked for comments. A time limit for comments is normally 3-6 weeks. After all comments have been received the applicant has the possibility to comment and provide additional information. 6. Decision Based on the application, the EIA, the comments from the public and authorities as well as the applicants comments to comments the County Council (Regional authority) will do their final evaluation and decides if permission could be given or not. For permission the municipality has to give their final OK. This decision is taken by the Municipality Board and has in some cases been influenced by parties opposing wind energy development, at least in their municipality. This municipality veto has been questioned as it s hard for a project developer to predict and it s not possible to appeal as it s a political decision. 7. Legal Force The County Council decision is published and a date is set for when it will gain legal force. During this time there is a possibility to complain and appeal to the Environmental Court. A decision in this court could be appealed to the Environmental Supreme Court. Most wind turbine permits are appealed and this adds lead time and is of course an issue for the project developer. In over 90% of the cases the appeals are rejected so after an approval by the County Council there is a high probability that the permission will be given, it s the extra lead time that s an issue. 9 WIND ENERGY IN THE BSR 2: THE CORPORATE DESIGN MANUAL

10 Sub processes In parallel with and supporting the main process sub process might be required. Below some of the sub process are listed and shortly described. What sub processes that are applicable will be agreed during the initial consultations. Detailed Spatial Planning. In cases when there are completion about land use the might demand that this plan is prepared. As this process includes public consultation the lead time can be quite long. Permission to build power lines. This is normally the task of the grid operation company but for some projects there might be good reasons (economy) to build power lines as a part of the project. Permission according to the Cultural Heritage act. This process secures that no historical or archeological values are impacted in an unacceptable way. This process can result in an Ok with restriction e.g. how roads can be build or special precautionary measure to be taken. 10 WIND ENERGY IN THE BSR 2: THE CORPORATE DESIGN MANUAL

11 3 Wind energy project implementation procedure in Lithuania Procedure of wind farm implementation in Lithuania is based on several administrative decisions based on the following legal acts: - Law on the assessment of the impact of proposed economic activities on the environment; - Law on Energy; - Law on Territorial planning; - Procedure on promotion of generation and purchase of electricity generated using renewable and waste energy sources; - Law on Renewable energy; - Law on Construction; Several permissions must be acquired during the whole wind farm implementation procedure: - Permission for power expansion (issued by the Ministry of Energy; time 30 calendar days from the submission of application); - Construction permission (issued by local municipality; time 35 workdays for >350 kw turbines and 20 workdays for <350 kw turbines); - Permission to generate electricity (issued by the Ministry of Energy; time 30 calendar days from the submission of application). In order to get these permissions the following procedures must be performed: 1. Permission for power expansion is issued when: Location of the planned wind farm has been identified and ownership status confirmed; EIA procedure has been accomplished and conclusion is positive; Preliminary requirements for wind farm connection to the local grid have been received from distribution system operator (DSO) or transmission system operator (TSO) and approval from DSO or TSO regarding the planned wind farm power capacity has been given; 2. Construction permission is issued when: Territorial planning documents (if needed) have been prepared and approved by municipality; 11 WIND ENERGY IN THE BSR 2: THE CORPORATE DESIGN MANUAL

12 Technical project has been prepared and has approvals from the responsible institutions (list of institutions is prepared by municipality). Approvals always are required from Environmental department and Public health institution; Expertise of the technical project has been carried out by qualified experts; 3. Permission to generate electricity is issued when: Wind farm has been constructed, construction works finished and approved; Location of the wind farm has been approved and registered; Wind farm performance has been tested. Tests include grid performance and noise measurements during full range of wind conditions (from turbine start to operation at nominal power); Wind farm has been connected to the grid, contract has been made between the wind farm owner and DSO or TSO; Approval has been issued by State Energy Inspectorate and State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate. EIA is conducted if: - Proposed economic activity appears on the list of economic activities for which EIA procedure is necessary (wind turbines do not appear on this list); - EIA selection procedure concludes that EIA must be conducted (selection procedure must be conducted for wind turbines); - the implementation of the proposed economic activity may have impact on Natura 2000 territories, and responsible institution (State Service for Protected Areas) determines that the impact may be significant. This means that each wind farm project goes through the EIA selection procedure, which decides, whether full EIA report must be prepared or not. EIA selection procedure is conducted by the local Environmental Department of the Ministry of Environment. 12 WIND ENERGY IN THE BSR 2: THE CORPORATE DESIGN MANUAL

13 Wind energy project implementation scheme in Lithuania Acquisition of land Preliminary conditions for WT connection to the grid Special or detailed plan (if needed) Permission for power expansion (Ministry of Energy) EIA report and assessment of impact on public health (if needed) Selection procedure for EIA and for the assessment of impact on public health Technical requirements for WT connection to the grid Technical project Application for construction permit WT construction Building of access roads, WT foundation and preparation of construction site Construction permit WT tests, measurements, connection to the grid, starting-tuning works WT approval by State Energy Inspectorate and State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate Permit to generate electricity (Ministry of Energy) WT operation 13 WIND ENERGY IN THE BSR 2: THE CORPORATE DESIGN MANUAL

14 4 Wind energy investment procedures in Poland Implementation of a wind farm in Poland requires acquiring administrative decision, which originate from the following legal acts: - Environmental Protection Law, - Energy Law, - Act on access to information on environment, public participation and environmental impact assessment, - Act on nature conservation, - Act on public roads, - Act on agricultural and forest grounds protection, - Act on spatial management and planning, - Construction Law. After identification of a location where planned wind farm could be installed, acquiring information on the area s ownership status or mortgages/servitudes, the process shall start with applying for acquiring the environmental permit, which is usually a difficult part of the process. Types of investments requiring environmental permit have been listed in the regulation of the Council of Ministers of November 9th, 2010, on investments having significant impact upon environment. Wind farms, which capacity installed exceeds 100 MW is being categorized as an investment which may always negatively impact the environment. The regulation lists also investments which may potentially negatively impact the environment. This category includes wind turbines which total height exceeds 30 m and those which are planned to be located within the areas of national parks, nature reserves, landscape parks, Natura2000, ecologically useful areas and those valuable in terms of nature and landscape. If the planned investments can be qualified as either of those listed in the regulation, it requires an environmental approval. Its important part is constituted by the research of the birds and bats migration routes, which may potentially lead across the planned wind farm area. Therefore, investor is obliged to conduct such a research. The procedure of issuing the environmental permit depends also on the need of preparing the EIA report, which shall be attached to the application for issuing the environmental permit. According to the schemes of the process, the application is being usually addressed to a mayor, which, depending on the case, decides on the need of preparing the report, defines its scope and consults it with relevant public bodies as well as conducts public consultations. Preparation of the EIA report is always obligatory in the case of investments classified as always having significant impact upon environment. 14 WIND ENERGY IN THE BSR 2: THE CORPORATE DESIGN MANUAL

15 Environmental Impact Assessment procedure for investments where preparation of the environmental impact report is obligatory Investor submits application for issuing an environmental permit to mayor/president of a county or Regional Environmental Protection Directorate). Call is being published on the procedure s start, possibility of reading the documents and addressing potential conflicts. Defining scope of the report Mayor/president of a county/repd defines scope of the report. Opinion on the scope of the report Before issuing the decision the issuing body asks for opinion on the scope Relevant body issues the decision on the report s scope (timing: 30 days) Regional Environmental Protection Directorate (in case it is not the body issuing the environmental approval)(14 days) Regional Sanitary Inspectorate (timing:14 days) Investor submits application for issuing environmental approval and includes environmental impact report. Public participation Public body responsible for the process conducts public consultations (timing 21 days for submitting protests) or an open public hearing. Ageeing conditions for conducting investment Public body conducting EIA procedure asks for agreeing the conditions for conducting investment. Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection Opinon of the Regional Sanitary Inspectorate (30 days) Public body, after analysing the application, agreed decisions, remarks and protests, issues an environmental approval. 15 WIND ENERGY IN THE BSR 2: THE CORPORATE DESIGN MANUAL

16 Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure for investments where preparation of the environmental impact report is not obligatory Investor submits application for issuing environmental approval to mayor and attaches information sheet describing potential impacts. The public body informs interested parties. Qualification of investment for EIA procedure and preparation of the report Public body conducting procedure asks for an opinion whether elaboration of a report is necessary Resolution imposing obligation of conducting EIA and defining scope of a report. Obligation of the EIA is obligatory if possibility of investment implementation depends on establishing area of a limited use. Resolution on the lack of necessity of conducting EIA (30 days). Justification is crucial. Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection(14 days) Regional Sanitary Inspectorate (timing:14 days) Investor complements the application with the report.informing society on the initiation of the EIA procedure. Public participation Public body responsible for the process conducts public consultations (timing 21 days for submitting protests) or an open public hearing. Ageeing conditions for conducting investment Public body conducting EIA procedure asks for agreeing the conditions for conducting investment. Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection Opinon of the Regional Sanitary Inspectorate (30 days) Public body, after analysing the application, agreed decisions, remarks and protests, issues an environmental approval 16 WIND ENERGY IN THE BSR 2: THE CORPORATE DESIGN MANUAL

17 Further important steps of the process anticipate acquiring the following decisions: 1. Conditions of grid interconnection, which are issued by the relevant Distribution System Operator. 2. Location decision this is being usually issued on the basis of the local plan of spatial management. In the case when municipality does not possess the plan, it is necessary to conduct either amendment of the local spatial policy defined in the study of preconditions and directions of spatial development, because assumptions of the local plan must be consistent with the study. Amendments can be introduced after completing the procedure that starts with submitting application addressed to a mayor, requesting introduction of the necessary changes. Location decision can be potentially issued on the basis of the conditions of plot development, however this way is not being applied in practice. The procedure is being defined by the act on spatial management and planning. 3. Decision on the location of infrastructural devices within the area of public roads (based on the act on public roads). 4. Decision on the location of road exits (based on act on public roads). 5. Decision approving plans of cutting trees and bushes (based on act on nature protection) 6. Key step, having received all the necessary administrative decisions as well as construction designs of the wind turbines construction, roads, electric infrastructure, telecommunication infrastructure, the investors submits application for issuing a construction permit. Having finished the construction process, the investor is obliged to receive the operation approval. 7. In order to facilitate sale of the electricity generated from wind turbines and acquiring the green certificates, the investor shall apply for issuing the concession for electricity generation from renewable energy sources. Concession is being issued by the Energy Regulatory Office after proving financial and technical feasibility of the project. Before applying for the decision, the investor shall have signed agreement for grid interconnection with relevant DSO and attach the construction permit. Requirement is based upon Energy Law. 17 WIND ENERGY IN THE BSR 2: THE CORPORATE DESIGN MANUAL