TEP was appointed by a joint venture consisting of Siemens Transmission and Distribution Limited (STDL) and Nexans. TEP was to provide both planning and environmental consenting support for the onshore transmission works associated with Beatrice Offshore Windfarm; Scotland’s largest operational offshore wind farm. The £2.6bn wind farm is located in Moray Firth in Scotland and involves 84 turbines which came fully online in May 2019, achieving 588MW of renewable energy and capable of powering up to 450,000 homes.
In November 2015, Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (BOWL) was granted planning permission by The Moray Council for the onshore works. This was required to enable a connection from the wind farm to the national electricity network. These works involved connecting approximately 20km of underground cable from a landfall point west of Portgordon to a new substation located adjacent to the existing one, at Blackhillock near Keith.
TEP assisted the joint venture with the discharge of a number of planning conditions, including the production of several phased Construction Environmental Management Plans, Site Waste Management Plans, flood risk prevention, water management, and drainage impact assessment documents, archaeological evaluation works and noise monitoring.
TEP also provided ecological support throughout the construction works including pre-construction ecological surveys (specifically for otter and badger), protected species licences, and ongoing advice and monitoring via the provision of an Environmental and Ecological Clerk of Works.
STDL and Nexans were the construction delivery partners for BOWL and throughout the works TEP provided ongoing planning, environmental and consenting advice to the client as required. TEP also coordinated its many construction commitments through the production and management of two Commitments Registers; these are a key tool for monitoring environmental progress and compliance during construction.
