THE PLANNING PROCESS, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND CONSULTATION
Planning Process
Pumped storage hydro schemes with an electrical output greater than 50 Mega Watts (MW) requires consent from the Scottish Ministers. This is a requirement under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 and is often referred to as a Section 36 consent.
Our application for Section 36 consent will be submitted to and managed by the Energy Consents Unit (ECU), a government department with the final decision being taken by the Scottish Ministers.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
EIA is the process of identifying, evaluating and mitigating the likely significant effects of a proposed development. Independent environmental experts are conducting a range of environmental studies to assess what potential effects a pumped storage hydro could have. The scope of these studies is agreed by the ECU in consultation with the appropriate regulatory bodies, such as Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), and the local planning authority. The results of these studies will help to inform the design of the pumped storage scheme and protect the environment by minimising potential effects on receptors such as local community, recreation and tourism, landscape, wildlife, and water quality.
The EIA is undertaken in parallel with the engineering development of the pumped storage hydro, which ensures that means of reducing potential effects can be embedded into the scheme design.
The studies will be presented in an EIA Report which also contains a non-technical summary. The results of the EIA will ensure that the potential effects of the pumped storage hydro are known to decision makers such as the Scottish Ministers and the local planning authority to inform their determination of consent.
Consultation
This Public Exhibition is an opportunity for you to make comments to us on our proposals for the pumped storage scheme before we make our application. Your comments, along with the results of ongoing environmental studies will inform the final design of the pumped storage scheme. Once the design is finalised, the Section 36 application will be submitted to the ECU and consent requested from the Scottish Ministers.
Once the application for Section 36 consent has been submitted, you will be able to read full copies of the ES online and at advertised locations within the local community. You will also be able to make comments via the ECU or local planning authority websites.
