A comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the proposed development will be carried out having regard to relevant legislation and guidance documents. An Environmental Impact Assessment Report will accompany our planning application. We will also produce a Natura Impact Statement (NIS), both of which will be used to inform the EIA. This EIA will also be informed by a range of specialist environmental studies and assessments.

The Report will analyse whether the proposed development, construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of the proposal are likely to have any impact on the receiving environment. The NIS will review whether the proposed development is likely to have any impact on the integrity of any European environmentally designated site.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Scoping Report for the NISA project (covering both the offshore and onshore elements) has been published and circulated to relevant and required consultees for consideration. The Scoping Report describes the key infrastructure of the proposed development, the baseline conditions and sensitivities of the receiving environment and assessment methodologies to be applied in the EIA. In addition, the Scoping Report outlines the proposed structure of the EIA Report.

The Scoping Report is intended to facilitate stakeholder engagement, with feedback sought from consultees to further inform the content and scope of the EIAR.

To view this Scoping Report please click here

While we gain local knowledge from consulting with local communities, we will be conducting studies and surveys to understand the local and surrounding areas. Some of these will require desktop research while others will require investigations on the areas being considered. These surveys will include but will not be limited to:

• Marine Geology and Oceanography
• Ecology
• Ornithology
• Commercial fisheries, shipping and navigation
• Air Quality and Human Health
• Seascape, Landscape and Visual
• Climate
• Land and Soil (includes Soils, Geology and Hydrology)
• Water (includes Hydrology, Surface Water Quality and Flooding)
• Biodiversity
• Archaeology and Heritage
• Traffic and Transportation
• Underwater and Airborne Noise and Vibration
• Resource and Waste Management

The findings from these surveys will inform the development of the proposed project and will be published in our Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) as part of any planning application.

Survey Works Update

The ongoing surveys that allow the project to gather information that informs potential design and routing options, now include site investigation works. The initial works will focus on potential onshore landing points and potential onshore cable routes.

As the project moves along more surveys will be carried out – both onshore and offshore – and information will be provided as the works progress.

As a developer of renewable energy, we are committed to engaging early, openly and transparently. As this project progresses, the design will develop, and the form of the project that will ultimately be submitted for planning consideration will become clearer. Providing information at this design stage in the development process, allows people to develop their thoughts about the proposal and identify the questions that they might have. It also allows us to incorporate feedback into the design process.

We are committed to providing information throughout the development phase of the project and we believe that it is important at all stakeholders are involved at the earliest stages of the development process.

Consultation and Covid-19

As we move through the NISA development process and seek to engage with individuals, communities and all relevant stakeholders, we will continually monitor the Covid-19 situation. As part of our engagement, and with the assistance of our EIA consultants (due to be appointed Feb 2021) we will seek to maximise the use of virtual tools and technologies to engage with all stakeholders. This process will incorporate a virtual consultation room into this website which will provide an interactive platform through which we will provide information on our proposals. This virtual consultation platform will be used to provide updated information at key stages in the development process.

In addition to the above, we will be reaching out to individuals, community groups and interested stakeholders. In light of Covid-19 situation, this will initially be on a remote basis however we will continue to monitor this situation and when appropriate and permissible, we will endeavour to engage with interested parties in person when appropriate.

In order to establish the most appropriate turbine locations, cable routes etc, it is our intention to carry out investigation works that will provide information on the existing seabed and geotechnical conditions. These investigations will ensure we understand the local area as much as possible before we submit our planning application.

Two foreshore licence applications have been submitted to the Department of Planning, Housing and Local Government for consideration and they are currently working their way through the consenting process. The first licence is to investigate the turbine locations and inter-array cabling, and the second licence is to investigate the cable assessment area which will include the potential landfall areas (please see map below).

The timing of these surveys will be dependent on a number of factors including vessel availability, suitability of weather and availability of suitably qualified and experienced personnel. We will coordinate with the fisheries industry and all other relevant stakeholders in order to avoid any unnecessary disruption to existing activities.

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