Environmental compatibility of wind power

- The Norwegian experience -

Anders P. Iversen

Head of section for environmental impact assessments and land use planning

National Directorate for nature management, Norway

In operation

License given

Application received

Plans on hold

Notification received

License rejected

Total of notifications and applications received:

108 windpower plants

4000-6000 windmills

15.445 MW total

Total of these in operation or license given:

21 windpower plants

550-600 windmills

1.434 MW total

Driving forces:

• Climate change worries – a strong push to increase clean and renewable energy production.

• Government support of investment costs (until 2004), and a new support scheme with characteristics similar to a feed-in scheme (proposed from 2007: approx 0,01 EURO/Kwh).

Licensing procedure:

• Notification and licensing (including EIA procedure and consultation process) at project level, managed by national energy directorate.

Main conflicts observed:

• Landscape (especially worries about effects on tourism industry destinations).

• Local residents (skepticism to landscape change, noise/light scattering etc. – “Not in my back yard”).

• Biodiversity (worries about observed and possible effects on protected and “red listed” species, especially birds).

• Wilderness (many wind power plants proposed in the last remaining areas untouched by human intervention).

Thematic conflict assessment results (67 plants assessed):Purpose: to ensure a sustainable wind power development, taking into account other land use- and community interests. Consider cumulative effects between different projects, and give a combined assessment of the proposed wind power plants. Aspects: reindeer pastures, military areas, environment.

Aspects (themes) under heading “Environment”:• Nature (Bird life, Nature types, Ecological function, Recreational areas, Untouched areas).• Landscape.• Cultural heritage.

Environment Number of windpower plants (of 67 assessed)

Number of windmills

(with 2.5-4.0 MW mills)

Production capacity MW

(approx.)

A: No/small conflict 0 0 0 MW

B: Lesser conflict 9 160-260 650 MW

C: Medium conflict 22 400-640 1600 MW

D: Large conflict 24 600-960 2400 MW

E: Very large conflict 12 300-480 1200 MW

Difficulties encountered:• Lack of sufficient knowledge about area (for example biodiversity mapping).• Lack of methodology for landscape evaluation and assessment.• Lack of methodology for assessment of cumulative effects.• Ranking based on environmental values in proposed area, without comparing

with production capacity (no assessment of conflict per produced GWh).

Information gathering

Collection of available knowledge on environmental values in proposed area of construction.

Assessment of level of conflict between proposed windpower plant and the environmental values present (based on national environmental goals).

Results

•Ranking of proposed wind power plants according to conflict level.

•Improved advice on mitigation measures to reduce conflict.

Comments related to proposed EEA methodology:

1. Biodiversity impact can be important also outside of designated nature conservation areas. The methodology should take the biodiversity aspect into account in “non-protected” nature. (2010-goal to stop loss of biodiversity etc.)

2. How to handle cumulative effects in this methodology?

3. Valuable landscape is not only an aspect only in “touristic sites”, but could be a separate category. (Ref. the European landscape convention).

4. Land use quantification as proposed does not say much about the level of conflict between proposed power plants and the environmental values present in the area, (including results of possible mitigation measures).

5. Mapping of suitable areas for wind power plants would be more accurate if based on information about:• Wind resource (and power line availability in remote areas).• Environmental and other community values to be taken into account.• Assessment of conflict between these values and wind power development.

County-level land use planning to map suitable/unsuitable areas for wind power

development will be initiated in Norway in 2007 (guidelines under preparation).