Offshore wind energy - draft updated Sectoral Marine Plan: habitats regulation appraisal appropriate assessment information report

Overview

The HRA process for the draft updated Plan has been undertaken as a sequence of discrete stages in accordance with established guidance for conducting plan level HRA that was produced by NatureScot (formerly Scottish Natural Heritage) in 2015.

The Habitats Regulations cover inshore waters up to 12 NM and offshore zones up to 200 NM. These regulations ensure the protection and management of European sites, including SACs and SPAs. The regulations also consider Ramsar Sites and sites that are proposed for future inclusion in the European site network.

Under the Habitats Regulations, where a plan or project is not directly connected with or necessary for the management of European sites, and where the possibility of a ‘Likely Significant Effect’ (LSE) on these sites cannot be excluded, either alone or in combination with other plans or projects, an AA should be undertaken. 

As the Competent Authority, the Scottish Government's Offshore Wind Directorate is responsible for producing a formal AA record that assesses the impact of the draft updated Plan on these sites in fulfilment of the Habitats Regulations obligations. The formal AA record needs to determine whether there will be an AEOI at any European/Ramsar (Protected) site. The HRA AAIR, will be used to inform the formal AA record. The HRA AAIR presents the initial findings of the strategic HRA process. It reviews the impacts of the draft updated Plan based on the OAs and proposed levels of GW capacity for potential offshore windfarm development.

Uncertainties exist around the projects that will proceed through to completion, including the final details of these projects. There are also uncertainties around the future impacts from other plans and projects. Although these uncertainties exist, a high level of certainty is required under the Habitats Regulations that there will be no AEOI on any Protected site. The HRA for the draft updated Plan takes account of these issues and, where required, has identified relevant mitigation measures to accompany the draft updated Plan.

To assess the effects of the draft updated Plan on Protected sites, a staged approach has been adopted, this included:

• Pre-screening report: Sets out the evidence base and the proposed methods to be applied for the subsequent screening/scoping and assessment stages of the HRA work. The pre-screening phase identified an initial list of 649 Protected sites for which there could be an LSE as a result of the draft updated Plan;
• Screening: A secondary sifting process to identify those sites for which there is the potential for LSE. A precautionary approach has been adopted to the assessment, as required, in order to ensure that no relevant sites are excluded; A total of 167 Protected sites were identified that needed to be considered within the HRA AAIR for the draft updated Plan; and
• Appropriate Assessment stage of the HRA AAIR: Review of the potential impacts on marine habitats, birds, and mammals, in-combination effects and mitigation measures.

With the application of mitigation measures (project level and plan level) the assessment concluded that there will be no AEOI from the draft updated Plan alone or in-combination with other plans and projects on habitat and marine mammal features. 

The assessment concluded an AEOI on seabird features from the draft updated Plan alone and in-combination with other projects. Key to these conclusions were the risk of effects on protected bird features from collision and displacement impacts. While the adoption of plan level mitigation and the legal requirement for project level HRA was acknowledged, the conclusion of AEOI from the draft updated Plan in relation to bird features remained.

While the HRA AAIR has been necessarily qualitative in the assessment; given the extensive evidence available through recent OWF assessments in Scottish waters, the conclusion of AEOI is confidently determined against the draft updated Plan (alone and in-combination), even though quantified impacts at Protected sites were unavailable to inform the HRA AAIR.

Impact modelling was carried out for birds and marine mammal features. Although the outputs from these models were unavailable within the time constraints of the HRA AAIR, finalisation of the modelling will be completed in 2025 and be used to inform the formal AA record carried out by OWD.
The conclusion of the integrity test made within the HRA AAIR is in advance of formal judgement (formal AA Record) made by OWD, in consultation with NatureScot. Thus, the conclusions of the HRA AAIR do not pre-empt the formal AA record decision. 

In the event that the conclusions of the formal AA judgement are in line with the HRA AAIR, the draft updated Plan can only then be adopted if the competent authority is satisfied there are no alternative solutions, and it is necessary for IROPI. Additionally, it is considered that Scottish Ministers will need to ensure the implementation of compensatory measures under the Habitats Regulations, to enable adoption of the draft updated Plan

Given the existing uncertainties around the impacts to seabirds from offshore wind development (e.g. collision risk) and the efficacy of compensatory measures, an adaptive approach will be required.  As data emerges, such as through monitoring or targeted research, the measures can be adapted, as appropriate, or new measures implemented.

Please note this document is available as a PDF only from the above supporting documents section.