Environmental Impact Assessment of the key environmental impacts

Page limit: 4 pages
Style: academic writing
Prepare a summary Environmental Impact Assessment of the key environmental
impacts of the project described below. Make recommendations towards five major
potential impacts areas and ways in which they can be mitigated through design or
operational controls.
Background
The proposed development comprises the construction of an onshore wind farm
consisting of wind turbines and ancillary works. Details of the project are as follows:
• 24 no. wind turbines with an overall blade tip height of up to 185m and all
associated hardstanding foundation areas;
• 5 no. borrow pits;
• 3 No. permanent Anemometry Masts up to a height of 120m;
• Provision of new internal site access roads (permanent and temporary), this
includes passing bays, amenity cycle ways, car parking and associated
drainage;
• 1 no. 110kV electrical substation, including battery storage, which will be
constructed at one of two proposed town ward locations on site: with 2 no.
control buildings, associated electrical plant and equipment, battery storage
containers and a wastewater holding tank;
• 5 no. temporary construction compounds, in surrounding townlands
• All associated underground electrical and communications cabling connecting
the wind turbines to the proposed substation – you need to justify the choice
between 110 kV line via either
o overhead line (Option A)
o underground line (Option B)
o overhead and underground line (Option C);
You need to consider how you might mitigate against the impacts of providing the
aspects outlined above.
You are also told that you need to remove existing meteorological masts and provide
new access junctions, improvements and temporary modifications to existing public
road infrastructure to facilitate delivery of abnormal loads and construction access.
In addition you need to maintain access onto the local roads in the surrounding
townlands and amenity access from the Canal Tow Path. You also need to consider
the related site works and ancillary development from cradle-to-grave …in other
words the 30-year operational life and de-commissioning of the entire wind farm.
Disruption from the wind farm activities and construction is to be kept to a minimum
as there is an active and vociferous local campaign group consisting of many
parishes that are opposed to wind farms. The local regulators, as local politicians
(local council) are sided with local residents and are looking to regulate the works
through strict enforcement actions.