Page 22 - North American Clean Energy January February 2015

wind power

Figure 1. Location plot
of the Neart na Gaoithe
Ofshore Wind Farm in

Scotland, UK

From Concept to Consent: Collecting

Offshore Environmental Data

Learning from the Neart na Gaoithe Offshore Wind Farm

By Tom Morris

ALL OFFSHORE WIND FARMS ARE UNITED BY ONE COMMON CHALLENGE. From the outset, Of the east coast of Scotland, for example, a 450 MW wind farm is in the ongoing
and most probably throughout most of the wind project’s life, the subsea environment will development stages on the outer Firth of Forth at Neart na Gaoithe—and has been since
remain unseen by human eyes. his presents the developer with two problems:
2008. Marine data has led the shaping of this project. Early desk studies utilized existing

information for site selection, while more costly surveys collected geophysical data to
1. he need to ind out exactly what’s at the site; and structure the inal design.
2. he requirement for conidence in that knowledge.
In 2008, the research irst began, which involved selecting a Scottish Territorial Waters
site for wind power developer, Mainstream Renewable Power. his was in response to a call

Cost-efective, intelligent marine data collection provides a solution to both of these for applications by he Crown Estate (de facto landowner and rights holder). Development
problems.
areas were identiied around the Scottish coast, and information gathering began to look at
Although the United States has yet to fully develop ofshore wind power, the various factors, including:

468-megawatt (MW) Cape Wind project is slated for construction in federal waters of • Engineering constraints, such as depth, sediment type, meteorological, and
the coast of Massachusetts in Nantucket Sound. It’s the irst ofshore wind project to be oceanographic (metocean) conditions;
proposed and approved in the US, though litigation has slowed the process considerably.
• Feasibility, including grid connection and the wind resource; and
Until the US gains ground and more experience in the ofshore wind industry, it’s worth • Environmental consenting risks, meaning everything from birds, marine mammals,

learning from the challenges and successes of other developing ofshore projects. One of ishing, shipping, defense and aviation, as well as the nature conservation areas.
the irst hurdles to overcome before any potential wind power project can move forward
is location. Siting and environmental data collection can be a costly and time-consuming At this stage of the process, no project-speciic data had been collected for what will
process, but it’s a must-have if any wind project is to move forward—especially ofshore.
eventually become the Neart na Gaoithe Ofshore Wind Farm. he only data available was

from navigational charts, academic studies, and various other industries, as well as from
Location, location, location
the direct consultation with stakeholders. A small amount of modeling, however, was
Location-wise, Cape Wind draws on a rich history of wind power, and has the potential to carried out to determine the metocean conditions. Despite the lack of physical data, it was
produce most of the electricity used in the area, resulting in reduced pollution and related still possible to narrow the search area.

environmental impacts (read more at www.capewind.org).
Over time, more speciic sites were identiied and further study of existing data was
Nevertheless, developers also need to look beyond the onshore power and environmental undertaken, which resulted in the selection of “East Fife” as the most suitable location—
needs when it comes to ofshore wind energy. And, wind siting isn’t always a simple or later named, Neart na Gaoithe (meaning “strength of the wind” in Gaelic; see Figure 1).
obvious process.
Mainstream Renewable Power prepared a successful proposal for the site in October 2008.

22 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 nacleanenergy.com