16.11. Cumulative, Transboundary and Inter-related Effects Assessment

  1. During the construction phase it is noted that there will be a need to tow floating substructures out of port. There may also be a need to tow floating substructures to and from the port during the operation and maintenance phase for maintenance purposes (noting this is only likely to be needed for major component replacement). McMorland et al. (2022) states that when towing substructures to shore for major maintenance, tide, wind speeds and changes in conditions between deep and shallow water must be considered to avoid a failed transfer. These parameters will be considered when drafting the NSVMP.
  2. Feedback received at the Hazard Workshop, held on 31 August 2023, highlighted that good seamanship and watchkeeping in compliance with COLREGS were key mitigations against potential major accidents and disasters as a result of towed substructures. All vessels involved in towing procedures will be lit and marked as required under COLREGS as a design in measure ( Table 16.4   Open ▸ ). Procedures for vessels towing substructures will also be considered in the NSVMP (volume 4, appendix 24). The potential for the loss of wind turbine, impacts associated with this chapter and mitigation measures have been assessed and detailed in volume 2, chapter 13 and volume 3, appendix 13.1.
  3. In terms of the cumulative effects of towing substructures, it is predicted that standard mitigation will be in place across all other offshore wind farms within the vicinity of the Array. No other floating wind farms are currently in the vicinity of the Array (volume 2, chapter 15) and it is likely that any future floating wind farms in the vicinity of the Array will adopt similar mitigation measures to that of the Array in terms of towing substructures to and from ports. It is therefore very unlikely that multiple substructures will be towed at the same time in the vicinity of one another. Furthermore, there have been no reports to date of loss of wind turbines from floating UK offshore wind farms.
  4. As it has been concluded that the Array will not reasonably lead to a major accident or disaster after consideration of the designed in measures adopted, no assessment of inter-related or transboundary effects has been undertaken.

16.12. Conclusion

  1. Information on major accidents and disasters was collected through a desktop review of the following chapters to establish the baseline for UXO, commercial fisheries, shipping and navigation, aviation, military and communications, offshore energy projects, offshore cables and pipelines, carbon capture, natural gas storage and underground gasification, oil and gas and climatic effects:
  • volume 2, chapter 12: Commercial Fisheries;
  • volume 2, chapter 13: Shipping and Navigation;
  • volume 2, chapter 14: Aviation, Military, Communications;
  • volume 2, chapter 15: Infrastructure and Other Users; and
  • volume 2, chapter 17: Climate Effects.
  1. The scoping stage of the assessment identified all possible major accidents and/or disasters that could be caused by the Array and examined the vulnerability of the Array to major accidents and/or disasters ( Table 16.7   Open ▸ ), It was found that all reasonable worst consequences will be managed to an acceptable level with existing control measures in place.
  2. By extension, as no localised impacts are predicted there are no predicted significant transboundary effects associated with major accidents and hazards.

 

16.13. References

BEIS (2022c). UK Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment: Appendix 1F: Climate and Meteorology. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/623332cd8fa8f504a584cfd1/Appendix_1f_-_Climate___Meteorology.pdf. Accessed on: 14 March 2024.

CAA (2016). CAP 764 Policy and Guidelines on Wind Turbines. Available at: http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/modalapplication.aspx?catid=33&pagetype=65&appid=11&mode=detail&id=5609. Accessed on: 07 February 2024.

CAA (2023). CAP 032 UK Integrated Aeronautical Information Package (IAIP). Available at: https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/modalapplication.aspx?catid=1andpagetype=65andappid=11andmode=detailandid=223. Accessed on: 07 February 2024.

CIRIA (2015). Assessment and management of unexploded ordnance (UXO) risk in the marine environment (C754). Available at: https://www.thenbs.com/PublicationIndex/documents/details?Pub=CIRIA&DocID=313715. Accessed on: 08 January 2024.

Cunningham, C. and Hunt, C. (2023). Scottish Blue Carbon – a literature review of the current evidence for Scotland’s blue carbon habitats. NatureScot Research Report 1326. Available at: https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-research-report-1326-scottish-blue-carbon-literature-review-current-evidence-scotlands. Accessed on: 14 March 2024.

DESNZ and Defra (2023). Greenhouse gas reporting: conversion factors 2023. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greenhouse-gas-reporting-conversion-factors-2023 Accessed on: 14 March 2024.

HM Government (1974). Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/contents. Accessed on: 07 February 2024.

HM Government (2011). UK Marine Policy Statement. London: The Stationary Office.

HM Government (2015a). The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/51/contents/made. Accessed on: 07 February 2024.

HM Government (2015b). The Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/483/contents/made. Accessed on: 07 February 2024.

HM Government (2017). The Marine Works (EIA) (Scotland) Regulations 2017. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2017/115/contents/made. Accessed on: 07 February 2024.

HM Government (2023). National Risk Register. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64ca1dfe19f5622669f3c1b1/2023_NATIONAL_RISK_REGISTER_NRR.pdf. Accessed on: 25 January 2024.

IEMA (2020). Major Accidents and Disasters in EIA: A Primer. Available at: https://www.iema.net/resources/reading-room/2020/09/28/major-accidents-and-disasters-in-eia-an-iema-primer#:~:text=Major%20Accidents%20and%20Disasters%20in%20EIA%3A%20An%20IEMA,governance%20and%20consenting%20of%20future%20developments%20and%20infrastructure. Accessed on: 18 December 2023.

IMO (1974a). Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs). London. IMO.

IMO (1974b). International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). London: IMO.

IPCC (2021). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Available at: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/. Accessed on: 14 March 2024.

Jaroszweski, D., Wood, R., and Chapman, L. (2021). Infrastructure. In: The Third UK Climate Change Risk Assessment Technical Report. [Betts, R.A., Haward, A.B., Pearson, K.V. (eds)] Prepared for the Climate Change Committee, London.

JNCC (2010a). JNCC guidelines for minimising the risk of injury to marine mammals from using explosives. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Aberdeen, Scotland, pp.10.

JNCC (2010b). Statutory nature conservation agency protocol for minimising the risk of injury to marine mammals from piling noise. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Aberdeen, Scotland, pp.13.

JNCC (2017). JNCC guidelines for minimising the risk of injury to marine mammals from geophysical surveys. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Aberdeen, Scotland, pp.28.

Marine Directorate - Licensing Operations Team (MD-LOT) (2023). Scoping Opinion for the Ossian Array. Available at: https://marine.gov.scot/sites/default/files/ossian_array_-_scoping_opinion.pdf. Accessed on: 26 January 2024.

Marine Scotland (2015). Scotland’s National Marine Plan. A Single Framework for Managing Our Seas. Available at: https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy-plan/2015/03/scotlands-national-marine-plan/documents/00475466-pdf/00475466-pdf/govscot%3Adocument/00475466.pdf. Accessed on: 07 February 2024.

MCA (2021). Marine Guidance Note (MGN) 654: Safety of Navigation Offshore Renewable Energy Installations (OREIs). Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mgn-654-mf-offshore-renewable-energy-installations-orei-safety-response. Accessed on: 07 February 2024.

McMorland, J., Collu, M., McMillan, D. and Carroll, J. (2022). Operation and maintenance for floating wind turbines: a review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 163(112499).

Offshore Wind Scotland (2023). Current offshore wind projects in Scotland. Available at: https://www.offshorewindscotland.org.uk/the-offshore-wind-market-in-scotland/current-projects/. Accessed on: 22 December 2023.

Ossian OWFL (2023). Array EIA Scoping Report. Available at: https://ossian-eia.com/offshore-scoping/. Accessed on: 19 December 2023.

Regional Resilience Partnership (RRP) (2022). Community Risk Register 2022. Available at: https://external-doc-library.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/PROD/SFRS+-+North+Community+Risk+Register+2022+-+DIGITAL.pdf. Accessed on: 25 January 2024.

RYA (2019). The RYA’s Position on Offshore Renewable Energy Developments: Paper 1 (of 4) – Wind Energy. 5th revision. Southampton: RYA.

Scottish Government (2021). Oil and gas. Glasgow. The Scottish Government.

Scottish Government (2023a). National Planning Framework 4. Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-planning-framework-4/. Accessed on: 15 January 2024.

Scottish Government (2023b). Update on Scotland’s renewables and wind power potential. Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/renewables-and-wind-power-update-to-scottish-affairs-committee/. Accessed on: 22 December 2023.

The Crown Estate (2022). Offshore Wind Report. Available at: https://assets.ctfassets.net/nv65su7t80y5/1Tr60ikvWdBncxjtySAgti/09121dae09f04dea907ee6a3ee2c043a/11720_owoperationalreport_2022_tp_020523plusaccessibility.pdf. Accessed on: 22 December 2023.

Trinity (2016). Guidelines on the Provision and Maintenance of Local Aids to Navigation. Available at: https://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/asset/2425. Accessed on: 07 February 2024.

UK Government, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)., Marine Management Organisation (MMO), Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Natural England (NE), Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED), Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), NatureScot, Marine Scotland and Natural Resources Wales (2022). Marine environment: unexploded ordnance clearance joint interim position statement [Online]. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/marine-environment-unexploded-ordnance-clearance-joint-interim-position-statement/marine-environment-unexploded-ordnance-clearance-joint-interim-position-statement#introduction-and-context. Accessed on: 20 March 2024.

 

[1] The RCP scenarios describe different climatic futures, all of which are considered possible depending on the volume of GHGs emitted. These provide the basis for future assessments of climate change and possible response strategies, thereby giving a low to high range in potential global GHG reduction initiatives and resulting rate of climatic effects over a given period. Refer to volume 3, appendix 17.2 for more information on RCP scenarios.

[2] C = Construction, O = Operation and maintenance, D = Decommissioning

[3] C = Construction, O = Operation and maintenance, D = Decommissioning

[4] The reasonable worst-case scenario anticipated, considering the likely severity and duration. A reasonable worst-case scenario is the worst plausible, not most likely, manifestation of the risk in question.