Forthwind offshore wind farm seascape, landscape and visual assessment (SLVIA)

Challenge

Forthwind was granted consent by Scottish Ministers on 21 December 2016 under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 to construct and operate two offshore wind demonstration turbines with a generation capacity not exceeding 18 MW.

Solution

The project will feature two new prototype or “pre-commercial” two bladed turbines, not currently offered in the marketplace. The project is located off the coast of Methil in the Firth of Forth, approximately 1.5km offshore, with the aim to validate the technical and operational abilities of the new offshore wind turbine technology. The turbines will be connected to the grid via a transformer station located at the landfall location on the Fife Energy Park.

Since the consent was awarded, Forthwind identified the need, due to recent and forecasted improvements in the wind turbine technology, to vary the maximum generation capacity limit from 18 MW to 29.9 MW. Therefore, Forthwind submitted a variation application to Marine Scotland in 2018 to amend the S36 consent to accommodate the increase in generation capacity.

SLR’s Place team assisted Forthwind with the early stages of the seascape, landscape and visual assessment (SLVIA) for this offshore wind farm demonstrator project, producing supporting information for the consent amendment application, including written assessment and photomontage visualisations, addressing the changes to the landscape and visual impact of the project to assist Marine Scotland with their consideration of the likely effects; and producing the SLVIA section of the scoping report.

Impact

These initial assessments included viewpoints located along the nearby Fife coast, as well as the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian, with effects on the coastal character and views from receptors around the Firth of Forth assessed, due to the large scale of the proposed turbines and their position near the Fife coast.