NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY (WIND TURBINES)
[Name]
UBGMPD-3-15 Environmental Assessment Coursework Brief
[Instructor Name]
University of the West of England
[Due Date]
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Table of Contents
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................1
SECTION 2: PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND TURBINE TYPE.................................................3
SECTION 3: SITE SELECTION AND WIND TURBINE LAYOUT............................................4
SECTION 4: ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENTS.......................................................................6
i. Air Quality and Dust.............................................................................................................6
ii. Archaeology and Cultural Heritage......................................................................................6
iii. Ecology and Nature Conservation....................................................................................7
iv. Flood Risk, Hydrology and Drainage...............................................................................8
v. Landscape and Visual...........................................................................................................9
vi. Lighting.............................................................................................................................9
vii. Noise and Vibration...........................................................................................................9
viii. Socioeconomics..............................................................................................................10
ix. Transport and Access......................................................................................................10
SECTION 5: CONCLUSION........................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: An Overview of the Site Chosen for Wind Turbines........................................................2
Figure 2: Final 20-Turbine Layout Map..........................................................................................5
Figure 3: Archaeological and Cultural Heritage..............................................................................7
Figure 4: Ecology and Nature Conservation...................................................................................8
Figure 5: Flood Risky Areas............................................................................................................8
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SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
This report is a Non-Technical Summary. It looks at a plan for a new wind farm in the area
between Aust and Oldbury-on-Severn. The site is close to the River Severn. It has many fields
and open land. It is also near small villages. The aim is to explain the project in simple words.
The public should understand it without any need for great technical skill.
The objective of the project will be to produce clean energy. Additionally, the project is designed
to minimise the impact on both the natural world and on people. As such, the project must
comply with all relevant legislation in relation to environmental impacts as set out within the
Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 for England
(Galway and McKay, 2017)
and Wales .
Wind farms can have an effect on the environment, which may range from minor effects to
significant effects. Therefore, these potential effects are assessed within the Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA), which provides a mechanism by which the potential impacts that
could arise from the project can be identified and mitigated. Furthermore, the EIA process assists
in identifying potential positive benefits arising from the project. This report will focus primarily
on the environment. The primary purpose of the report is not only to mitigate the negative
impacts of the project upon the environment, but to enhance the environment wherever possible.
When we go through the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on our proposed wind farm
project, we have to go through a "scoping" stage. At this point, we decide which of the many
potential environmental impacts that we wish to look at in greater depth; for our proposed
project, we chose: air quality, archaeology, the natural environment, flooding, the views from the
land, lighting, noise, people and employment, and transport. These are typical of those studied
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when carrying out an EIA for wind farms (Glasson and Therivel, 2013). Even though some of the
topics may not be significant in this instance, each has been considered as part of the overall
study so that the final report can cover all of them.
Figure 1: An Overview of the Site Chosen for Wind Turbines
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SECTION 2: PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND TURBINE TYPE
The project is an application for permission to develop a wind farm in the area of land between
Aust and Oldbury-on-Severn. A large part of this land is open fields; however, there are some
small farms and a few small dwellings along with small roads. The area is generally quiet;
however, it is relatively close to the M48 motorway. Because of its proximity to the River
Severn, this site has excellent winds as the open waters allow for wind to travel directly into the
open fields without being obstructed by buildings or trees, etc. It is due to these conditions that
this site was identified to be studied further.
The proposed wind farm will comprise 20 turbines, with each turbine resting on its own
individual concrete foundation. The foundations will be distributed evenly throughout the site,
allowing the turbines to be spaced apart sufficiently to prevent the "wake" effect caused when
two turbines sit too closely together, which would result in the turbine behind having reduced
wind and therefore generating less electricity. Spacing the turbines apart will also improve safety.
For this study, the turbine type chosen is a 3.6 MW onshore wind turbine. This size is common in
the UK. It is not too large and not too small. The hub height is about 80–90 m, and the blades are
about 55–60 m long. So the full tip height is around 135–150 m. The height helps catch stronger
winds. The blades turn slower than people think, but the long blades can take a lot of wind
(Glasson, 2021)
energy. The design of this turbine model is simple and good for open farmland .
It also works well in areas with mixed land use.
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SECTION 3: SITE SELECTION AND WIND TURBINE LAYOUT
The site is on a stretch of land, located halfway between Aust and Oldbury-On-Severn. The site
is close to the River Severn. The land surrounding this location is mainly made up of large, open
fields, with lower-lying farms. The ground is primarily level, which will help due to the fact that
winds can travel through the open fields unimpeded by high objects. Also, the majority of the
year, there are strong winds within this area, making it an ideal location for building a wind farm.
Additionally, this area is easily accessible via main roadways, allowing workers and machinery
to enter the site relatively unobstructed.
A multitude of factors were used to determine why this site would be selected as the optimal site
for this wind farm. Two of these factors were wind speed and space. Due to the large open spaces
provided by the land use, the turbines could be placed further apart than if the site had been
previously occupied by other structures (e.g. buildings) and/or trees. Turbines that are placed too
close to one another impede the flow of wind, creating less energy produced. In addition to
distance from residential dwellings being critical concerning both noise and visual impacts, the
turbine placement also took into account the proximity to the nearby villages. Since there were
residences situated on the periphery of the site boundaries, the turbines were positioned as far as
possible from those locations to provide additional protection to the residents and to alleviate
concerns.
There are some small streams/rivers, hedgerows, and pastures present within this area, and some
portions of the area contain flooding issues. Therefore, the placement of the turbines avoided
these areas. In addition to the aforementioned items, there are also some designated protected
natural habitats located along the River Severn. As such, all work activities associated with the
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installation of the turbines must avoid disturbing or damaging these protected habitats
(Anon., n.d.)
.
This layout contains 20 turbines. They are located across the middle section of the site. The
layout is very straightforward. The first row is oriented from southwest to northeast. The second
row sits behind the first row. There is sufficient space between each turbine so there will be less
interference with airflow, and this will allow workers easier access during maintenance. The
reason the rows are not perfectly straight is due to the irregularity of the ground. In order to keep
away from obstacles such as roads and ditches, some turbines have been placed slightly off
centre, which is typical for actual wind farms.
Figure 2: Final 20-Turbine Layout Map
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SECTION 4: ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENTS
In order to examine the primary environmental issues associated with the proposed wind farm,
an assessment was undertaken using simple language to evaluate the potential risks to the
environment and how such risks can be addressed. This part follows normal EIA practice
(Glasson, 1995)
.
i. Air Quality and Dust
The turbines themselves do not produce any atmospheric emissions or pollutants whilst
operational, as wind energy is classified as 'clean' and therefore does not utilise combustion fuels
to generate power. Therefore, there should be no emission of fumes during normal operation of
the wind farm.
The emissions from construction will be temporary and will cease once the wind farm
commences operation. Following commencement of operations, the quality of the air should
remain good as many wind farms have demonstrated very low long-term effects on air quality
(Macdonald, Glass and Creamer, 2017)
.
ii. Archaeology and Cultural Heritage
There are historical agricultural areas and a number of archaeological sites in the location of the
proposed wind farm. In addition, there are numerous agricultural fields that could potentially
contain buried artefacts. Although the area has been surveyed and identified as having little
history of ancient monument usage, it cannot be assumed that there are no such items present.
(Anon., n.d.)
Ancient artefacts have often been found in ordinary farmland .
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Figure 3: Archaeological and Cultural Heritage
iii. Ecology and Nature Conservation
The location is an important site for wildlife (such as small mammals and birds), and the local
area will have bats that fly between or over some of the hedgerows, and many species of birds
feed on insects in the open fields adjacent to the river.
There is a high likelihood that bats will fly close to the turbines since most of the turbines are
located at a distance from most of the hedgerows and trees. It is expected that this separation will
reduce the likelihood of bats colliding with turbine blades. There is good evidence to suggest that
maintaining a suitable buffer zone can greatly help to minimise the potential impacts of wind
(Anon., n.d.)
farm development on bat populations .
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Figure 4: Ecology and Nature Conservation
iv. Flood Risk, Hydrology and Drainage
Parts of the area flood from time to time due to river levels rising (River Severn), and therefore
flood maps indicate the lowest-lying areas within the area (the lower fields) are considered high-
risk. Therefore, the turbines can't be located in those areas. Instead, they will be placed on the
upper land (higher than the low-lying), which has less flood risk.
Figure 5: Flood Risky Areas
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The design of the wind farm ensures that there will be no obstruction to the natural flow of the
drainage channels. Should this be required, a small pipe or crossing will be put in place. The plan
will not alter water flow significantly, as altering it may increase flood risk. The Environment
(Hoopmann et al., 2023)
Agency's mapping will assist with this aspect of planning .
v. Landscape and Visual
There will be a visual impact on the land due to the openness of the area and the size of the
turbines. These large turbines can be seen from afar and change how the landscape looks.
While some nearby roads to Thornbury have distant views of the turbines, they will appear as
single items rather than a dense group of turbines, which weakens the visual impact. Spread-out
configurations of turbines typically blend into their environment better than clustered
(Bell et al., 2013)
configurations .
vi. Lighting
Turbines need lights at night according to aviation rules. Some lights are red and flash slowly.
These are not as bright as town lights. They are low-intensity and flash a few times a minute.
People in homes far from the site will see some dots of light on the towers. But the lights will not
be very strong because the turbines are far. Good design keeps the lights as dim as the rules
allow.
vii. Noise and Vibration
Turbines make two types of noise. One is the blade noise. The other is noise from the machine
(Kaldellis et al., 2016)
inside. Modern turbines are much quieter than old ones . Blade noise is
soft and steady. It sounds like a slow “whoosh.”
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Most homes near the site are far enough that the noise should not be strong. Distance reduces
sound fast. The layout keeps a wide buffer from houses. The land also has wind noise in the
trees, which hides some of the turbine sound.
viii. Socioeconomics
The project may bring some small jobs to the area. These jobs may be for ground work and
machine transport. Local shops may also get more business for a short time. The long-term jobs
are few because wind farms do not need many workers each day.
The project may also help schools or local groups understand more about clean energy. Some
(ywioek et al., 2022)
wind farms do this by sharing learning material .
ix. Transport and Access
Building weeks will see trucks coming into the site with turbine parts. Turbine blades are quite
long; therefore, they require a wider turn to be placed onto the site. In addition to the
construction phase, small new maintenance tracks will be built at the site that will remain after
construction has finished.
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SECTION 5: CONCLUSION
The proposed wind farm in an area of 20 turbines between Aust and Oldbury on the Severn was
assessed by the author for its suitability. The location of the proposed development is a relatively
open area consisting of both agricultural areas (farms), wetland and small village communities,
located near the Severn Estuary, which allows for high wind speeds to be generated. Therefore,
due to the quality of wind conditions available within the area, the author concluded that the
location could provide sufficient resources for a wind farm, as long as the planning process is
carried out in a careful manner.
The studies provided detailed assessments of the environmental implications of developing the
wind farm, including potential adverse impacts on the environment and society. However, the
study clearly indicated that while there may be some significant impacts arising from the
development of the wind farm, particularly in relation to issues concerning bird migration routes
and the generation of noise and the visual impact of the turbines upon the surrounding landscape;
nevertheless, the negative impacts identified could be greatly mitigated against through the
implementation of several relatively simple measures, including the increased spacing of the
turbines to prevent interference with bird flight corridors, controlling the timing of construction
activity to minimize disruption to wildlife and their habitats, implementing landscaping
techniques to screen the turbines from the surrounding landscape and engaging with local
communities to ensure that they are involved in the development process.
Based upon the findings of the study, the author concluded that, providing that the mitigation
measures identified in the study are implemented and the turbines are sited and designed to meet
the requirements of the wind resource assessment, the wind farm can be developed in the
location studied. Therefore, the area has sufficient capacity, and the wind speeds are sufficient to
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support the development of a wind farm. Furthermore, the study indicates that the environmental
and social impacts associated with the development of the wind farm can be effectively managed
and minimised. Finally, the study demonstrates that the development of a wind farm in this
location will assist in meeting national renewable energy targets and therefore contribute to
achieving longer-term sustainable energy objectives. However, the study also emphasises that it
is essential to monitor the effects of the wind farm continuously after its construction to ensure
that the wind farm continues to operate safely and effectively and to ensure that the impacts
identified during the study remain under control.
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