Consenting process
Before any wind park project can be taken forward, the correct consents need to be granted. The application for the Navitus Bay Wind Park will be determined by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change under the Planning Act 2008, as Navitus Bay is classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (“NSIP”).
NSIPs are usually large scale developments, such as new power generating stations (including wind parks), which require a type of consent known as “development consent”.
The Planning Act 2008 sets out thresholds above which certain types of infrastructure development are considered to be nationally significant and require development consent. Navitus Bay is an NSIP because it has a proposed offshore generating capacity of over 100 megawatts (MW).
Any developer wishing to construct an NSIP must first apply for consent to do so. Therefore Navitus Bay will need to apply to the Planning Inspectorate for a Development Consent Order (DCO) under the Planning Act 2008. The Planning Inspectorate will examine the application on behalf of the Secretary of State and make a recommendation to him on whether to grant or refuse the application. The Secretary of State will make the final decision.
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Before submitting an application, the developer is required to carry out extensive consultation on its proposals. The application will be accompanied by a number of required documents and plans, including an Environmental Statement, Consultation Report and draft Development Consent Order.
After the Planning Inspectorate receives the application, there will be 28 days to review the application and decide whether or not the application meets the standards required to be formally accepted for examination (known as validation).
At this stage, if the application is accepted, the public will be able to register with the Planning Inspectorate as an interested party and provide a summary of their views of the application in writing. At pre-examination stage, everyone who has registered and made a relevant representation will be invited to attend a preliminary meeting run and chaired by an Inspector or a Panel of Inspectors (known as “the Examining Authority”). This stage of the process takes approximately three months from the developer’s formal notification and publicity of an accepted application.
The Planning Inspectorate has six months to carry out the examination. During this stage, people who have registered to have their say are invited to provide more details of their views in writing. Careful consideration is given by the Examining Authority to all the important and relevant matters, including the representations of all interested parties. Any evidence submitted and answers provided to questions, whether set out in writing or explained at hearings, will also be considered.
The Planning Inspectorate must prepare a report on the application to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, including a recommendation, within three months of the end of the six-month examination period. The Secretary of State then has a further three months to make the decision on whether to grant or refuse development consent.
The requirements for applying include undertaking a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the proposed project. The EIA is a systematic process used to identify and evaluate potential environmental impacts associated with activities relating to the construction, operation and decommissioning of the proposed development.
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An early stage of the process, referred to as scoping, was carried out in 2011 to identify the topics that need to be included in the EIA process. This involved consultation with a wide range of organisations to gather information and views on potential impacts that the project may have. Topics identified in the scoping opinion will be assessed in detail as part of the EIA process. Where any significant impacts are identified, consideration is given to any measures that could be put into place to minimise them – these are known as “mitigation measures”. Any significant residual impacts that will remain even after the adoption of mitigation measures are then described.
An Environmental Statement (ES) is used to support the application for development consent and is a record of the EIA process that Navitus Bay has undertaken.
At present, Navitus Bay is working closely with statutory bodies including Natural England, English Heritage and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, as well as engaging and consulting with members of the public and political stakeholders.
If the wind park goes ahead, Navitus Bay hopes that construction could start in 2017 and that it will begin generating electricity in 2019. The wind park would be fully operational by 2020/21.
