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On the 17th December 2013 The Coalition Government’s new procedures designed to enable wind turbine proposals to be seen by local communities came into force. Proposals for the installation of a single turbine with a hub height in excess of 15m or the installation of 2 or more turbines must now honour the terms embodied within the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure and Section 62A Applications) (England) (Amendment) Order 2013. Developers have new obligations with regard to project publicity and consultation that must be“‘reasonably’discharged in“‘good time’. Failure to satisfy these obligations may see Local Planning Authorities refusing to validate prospective applications which effectively calls a halt to development prospects. How can TNEI Help? TNEI are a team of Planning and Environmental specialists with over 20 years of experience providing advice and guidance to the development industry. We are accomplished in the design and implementation of consultation strategies, the

On 20th December an agreement was reached by the European Parliament, European Council and European Commission on the proposed text for the revision of EU EIA Directive 2011/92/EU. The agreement follows much wrangling between the three bodies with numerous areas of disagreement. The Lithuanian Presidency of the EU has brokered the agreement reintroducing amendments that had previously been removed by the Irish Presidency. Review of the latest text is awaited, however TNEI understand that provisions which have made it through from the previous text include: Addition of new topics including climate change, soil, habitats, sustainability, land and biodiversity; The requirement to use qualified and competent experts (either to undertake the EIA or to review it on behalf of the competent authority); A requirement that Member States ensure the implementation of mitigation and compensation measures; Clearer requirements within the directive relating to information and public participation; and The requirement for the

TNEI has been boosted by a number of recent appointments within its Planning & Environmental Group based in Newcastle upon Tyne and Glasgow. Niall Kelly, an experienced chartered town planning consultant, Liz Russell, a graduate planning consultant and Andrew Kinghorn, an ornithological surveyor have joined the Newcastle office. Craig Potter, a consultant specialising in EIA management and planning, has joined the Glasgow office. Both Niall and Craig bring with them a wealth of experience working in the development industry, particularly within the consultancy sector. Liz and Andrew are recent graduates with a strong academic background, relevant work experience and a keen interest in their respective fields. Commenting on the new recruits, Andy Edgar – Director of the Planning & Environmental Group, said “The Group has performed very well in 2013 and developed a strong existing workload and project pipeline. These positive appointments reflect our growth plans for both Newcastle and

Gedling Borough Council have granted consent for a single 100 metres to blade tip turbine on land within the Green Belt at Stoke Bardolph Sewage Treatment Works in Nottinghamshire. The scheme was a resubmission of a previous planning application for two 132m to blade tip turbines which was refused planning permission in April 2012.TNEI were commissioned by Regeneco Ltd, on behalf of Severn Trent Water, to provide full planning and environmental consultancy services on the Severn Trent Water wind project. TNEI undertook environmental and technical assessments on site for the purposes of compiling supporting documentation and submitting the planning application. TNEI then managed the relationships with key stakeholders through the lifetime of the application. The proposal was recommended for approval by the Planning Department and approved by the Planning Committee in September 2013. The scheme will consist of a single turbine with a maximum height to blade tip of 100

TNEI’s Power Systems Team has recently started work on a Technology and Market Foresighting Study for Scottish Enterprise, with the aim of assisting Scottish Enterprise to gain a thorough understanding of the potential technologies that may be used to alleviate grid constraints and enable the continued integration of renewable energy generation onto the networks. The study will then identify those technologies that are most promising and the risks and issues associated with the technologies. The study will include a market analysis of the proposed options and a case study focussing on marine renewable energy in Scotland. The categories of technology options to be analysed are as follows: Upgrading the existing network ““ i.e. reinforcement; Interconnection with other countries; Demand side management; Adding flexible generation to the grid; and Incorporating storage into the system. This piece of work builds on TNEI’s strong track record in delivering innovation projects such as Low

TNEI, working with PPA Energy, has recently started work on a project for RenewableUK. Led by Dr Anna Ferguson, TNEI’s Regulatory Lead, the objective of this work is to help the wind industry prepare for and capitalise on emerging and future grid connection and system operation requirements. This includes identifying current technical and commercial opportunities for wind, wave and tidal generators in providing services to the System Operator, identifying trends and anticipating milestones in grid connections system operation requirements and identifying the short to mid-term technical, commercial and regulatory opportunities and risks for the wind and marine industries. It is expected that a programme of recommendations will be identified which will include potential policy, regulatory and network Code changes.