Renewable Energy Finance and Environmental Law - Assignment Example

Renewable energy and Environmental Law Contents Introduction 3 Land Use and Planning Permissions 3 Role OF SPEA 3 Role of local authorities 5 Reasons for Refusal of PPC Permit 5 Environmental Concerns and oppositions 6 Emissions and Air Quality 6 The affect of weather conditions 6 Damage to Human Health 6 Dioxin emissions and Particulate material 7 Bad smell 7 Ash Emissions and ash disposal methods 7 Operations 8 The “Nuisance Law” 8 Principal Permissions required for the wind farm 9 Pre –Application Stage 10 Application stage 10 Consideration of the Application stage 10 Determination of the Application Stage 11 Post-Decision stage 11 Environmental Impact Assessment 11 Impact on Tourism and Aviation 12 Likely Opposition to the Wind Farm 12 Conclusion 12 Refrences 13 Waste to Energy plant Introduction Energy from waste is the process of creating energy by incinerating waste.This energy may be in the form of electricity or heat.As the plant involves combustion of solid or liquid fuels , the incineration process produces emissions which may be in the form of acid gases , particulates , dioxins or ash residues.These emissions can cause significant unease to the residents of the nearby township.The environmental impact is regulated under Pollution Prevention and Control(Scotland) Regulations 2000[JRo07] There will be significant public concern about the possible health risk for the residents of the nearby locality and the environmental impact of emissions from energy from waste facilities.The Scottish Environment Protection Agency(SEPA) is responsible for protecting the environment and human health in the case of energy from waste facilities.This paper will discuss the role of environmental regulations which need to be satisfied in order to ensure that human health and environment are protected and the necessary permissions are obtained for the plant. Land Use and Planning Permissions Role OF SPEA The SEPA will apprise the planning authority on the environmental impact of the plant being set up.This is done by SEPA after studying the strategic and local development plans.The SEPA then gives advice on whether the permit should be given for the plant or not and also whether the plant will abide by the Thermal treatment of waste guidelines 2009.These guidelines reflect the views expressed in the legislation proposed under the Scottish government’s Zero Waste Plan.[Kev03] An energy from waste facility will require a permit under the Pollution Prevention and Control(Scotland) Regulations 2000(PPC) from SEPA before the operations can start[RDa03].The application for planning permission as well as environmental license should be made at the same time as this ensures all the technical information required for all permissions and licenses are available to the authorities at the same time.Although SEPA allows an incomplete design to be submitted but it usually leads to delay in approvals.The information submitted at the planning stage also needs to include a detailed examination of energy recovery and the use of heat and power generated .This is required in order to ensure that the facility will maximize thermal effecincy.The work on the site will not be allowed if the heat plan has onto been submitted.[RGP04] Before reaching the decision SPEA will look at the following factors – [The11] • Operations are not started before a PPC permit is given • A comprehensive application has been submitted which includes all the points mentioned above. • Best available techniques are being used in the plant.The applicant will have to demonstrate that it is capable of handling the waste types which have been specified in the application.The permitted list of wastes allowed for the plant will be according to the European Waste Catalogue system. • Abnormal operations are defined and the disaster management in these cases is properly defined. • The application has been advertised by them in the local newspaper as well as the Edinburgh gazette in order to make the public aware about their proposal. • In order to enhance the effects of recycling the Scottish government is restricting the type of wastes which can be incinerated.SEPA will regulate the inputs over the operational life of the facility.The plant operator has to ensure that his application is in consistency with the new application being proposed. The SPEA will also have consultations with the general public.They will be allowed to voice their opinions and objections to the proposed plant before the consultation committee. Role of local authorities Local authorities are responsible for developing a plan of their area.They decide where waste to energy plants or landfills site can be located.As the site is near a housing locality , the role of local authorities becomes all the more important.They will decide whether the site can be allowed to be built near a housing colony.A large part of the decision will be based upon the SPEA advice given to the local authorities.If all environmental clearances are not obtained , the permission is likely to be declined.[UKG89] Reasons for Refusal of PPC Permit The PPC permit can be refused by SEPA if it is not proved that Best Available Techniques will not be utilized in all the operations of the plant.These conditions depend on the waste materials being used and the local conditions of the site.The SEPA will also refuse the PPC permit if it believes that the applicant will not be in control of the operations.In order to ensure that this requirement is met the owner needs to ensure that either the ownership of the land is transferred to the operator of the plant or the plant operator is the majority share holder in the arrangement between the two. Environmental Concerns and oppositions Emissions and Air Quality The applicant needs to use advanced air quality modeling techniques to predict the effect of emissions.This result will be assessed by the modeling experts of SEPA.These experts will give a decision whether the correct procedures have been used.Once the correctness of the procedure has been decided , the results will be analyses in order to ensure that any effect on the air quality is within the acceptable levels.The modeling results are used to consider the predicted impact on any sensitive receptor. These results will be the major point of concern for the locality which is adjacent to the proposed plant.As the locality will also consist of women children and elderly people ; the SEPA will be very stringent in it’s evaluation process.Proper analysis will have to be done before the test in order to ensure that protests are minimal.It will be better to involve the people of the town from the beginning to reduce the chances of protest. The affect of weather conditions The weather affects how discharges from the chimney will be distributed in the local environment.The operator will have to carry out pollution dispersion modeling which determines how the emissions will behave in normal weather conditions and in abnormal weather conditions. Damage to Human Health In October 2009 SEPA published a report “Incineration of waste and reported human health effects”.This report was carried out by the Health Protection Scotland and the result of the study was inconclusive about the effects.This leaves a lot of room for interpretation.The town people can use these reports in order to claim that human health is negatively effected and the local authorities will also be averse to a plant so near to the civilian population.the operator will need to prove that best available technology is being used in the plant.These technologies would ensure that minimal emissions are produced and so any effect on human health will be negligible. Dioxin emissions and Particulate material The emission limit which has been set for waste incineration in 2003 is 0.1 ng/m^3 of flue gas.these limits need to be followed by the plant operator in order to prevent any protest from the residents.These small levels of dioxin if maintained ensures that emissions of the plant are less than emissions from domestic usages and thus health effects are undetectable.However if the emissions are higher the plant will find it difficult to obtain approval [Gre07] Particulate material limits are prescribed by the Air Quality Standards(Scotland) Regulations 2007 and the amended Air Quality limit values(Scotland) regulations.The Scottish government is also currently consulting on Draft 2010 Air Quality standards regulations.This draft regulation should be consulted in order to ensure that standards are met by the plant. Bad smell The biggest opposition from the residents of the town under the Nuisance law is Likely to come regarding bad smell.Any handling of biodegradable waste is likely to produce bad smell if adequate control are not in place or if the wastes are not managed in a proper manner.The odor needs to be controlled in the facility by keeping the waste handling and storage areas under negative pressure and by extracting room air to the combustion plant or a suitable bio-filter.The guidelines to manager odor sites have been provided by SEPA under odor guidelines. Ash Emissions and ash disposal methods Energy produced from waste produces two types of ash – Incinerator Bottom ash(IBA) which is the non-combustible residue and the air pollution control residue also known as theAPC or fly ash.Fly ash is the residue which is left behind in the air pollution control equipment. IBA can be recycled into aggregate products but APC residues have been classified as hazardous wastes which need to be disposed at a suitable facility.The APC needs to be placed in closed containers and even during removal from the site of operation ; the APC needs to be carried in trucks which are fully covered.The site for their disposal must be approved by local authorities and should not cause air pollution.APC can cause many respiratory diseases if not contained properly.The landfill sites used for disposing APC must abide by the EU landfill directives and the sites classified as hazardous should be used for APC. Operations Once the permissions for the plant has been given ,SEPA has the power to monitor the operations of the plant on the basis of public complaint if their is any breach in the regulations described above.the people from the town can file a complaint either to the local authorities or contact the SEPA directly.Minor breaches are usually followed by warning letters however a major breach in the terms and conditions may lead to withdrawal of the permit. The “Nuisance Law” Under section 79 of the Environment Protection Act(1990) a variety of circumstances are designated as statutory nusiances.The resident adjoining the plant can file a complaint under the following heads under this law – • Nuisance to the health of the residents • Nuisance from smoke emitted from the facility • Any accumulation or deposit which is harmful to health • Noise emitted from the facility which disturbs normal living • Smell or odor which is harmful to health During the hearing of above factors the courts are unwilling to assist the oversensitive.In the case of Heath vs. Brighton(1908) it was held that the noise in question could not be blamed as the complainant possessed hypersensitive hearing.Thus the site needs to follow the BATs and ensure that general public is not disturbed by the plant.Specific cases are unlikely to be entertained in a court of law. Wind Farm Wind energy is a renewable source of energy.Generating energy from renewable sources continues to rise due to various reasons.The renewable energy sources have been actively promoted by the UK and the Scottish governments in order to meet the energy targets and to fulfill the international obligations particularly the renewable obligation.Wind energy is look at favorably by the legislation as it does not causes climate change and saves precious fossil fuels.The public perception of wind energy being a cleaner source of energy also reduces the chance of protests from the local residents to the project. Principal Permissions required for the wind farm In order to develop a wind farm , permissions which have to be obtained depend upon the size of the farm.If the size of the farm to be developed is greater than 50 megawatts , the following are required in order to operate the wind farm – [Ren07] • Consent under the section 36 of the Electricity Act of 1989 and • Planning Permissions under the Town and Country Planning Act 1997 also called as the Planning Act If the development of the wind farm is for less than 50 MWs then permission is required only under the “Planning Act.” In order to obtain permission under the Section 36 of the Electricity Act of 1989 ; the following things need to be done - [UKG89] Pre –Application Stage In this stage , the applicant needs to discuss the location which has been identified with the relevant planning authority , consultative bodies and relevant licensed network operators.DECC(Department of Energy and Climate Change) also recommends the site owners to discuss their proposals with local communities and to obtain their approvals.Applicant should also prepare the Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) screening and source opinion from the secretary of state at this stage.An Environmental statement(ES) can also be prepared at this stage of the application.The ES is necessary for plants which are greater than 300 MW but it is normal practice to include the ES for all permissions obtained under section 36. Application stage In this stage the application along with the ES needs to be submitted to the DECC.A copy of the application and the ES should also be sent to the relevant planning authority.The application submitted should be advertised in the London Gazette and the local newspapers for two successive weeks.[Dep07] Consideration of the Application stage The relevant planning authority needs to raise objection if any to the proposed wind farm in a time frame of 4 months.If no objection is raised within this time frame , it is deemed that the planning authority will give it’s permission.After the advertisement has come in the London Gazette ; the public is provided an opportunity of 28 days in order to register as interested parties or file complaints against the wind farm.It will be suitable at this stage to make the residents of the town nearby as interested parties so that they are also involved in the process of setting up wind farm and all the protests are taken care of at this stage only.The secretary of state has the power to call a public inquiry if the planning authority or the public objects to the plan.If a public inquiry is set up , the secretary of state will give requirements to the applicant who will have to advertisements in local press regarding the inquiry.[DEC10] Determination of the Application Stage If public inquiry is called the ministers and the secretary of state await for reports from the inspector.The inspector has to visit the site of the wind farm ; take public opinion in to considerations and submit a report to the minister.the minister gives his decision within three months of receiving the inspector’s report.However if no public inquiry has been called the application is assessed by the Minster and a decision is given.The notice of this decision is given by the applicant in the London Gazette and the local press for 2 consecutive weeks. Post-Decision stage The assent which is provided by the Minster will contain planning conditons.The applicant has to follow these planning conditions during the operation stage.The DECC ministers can act as the point of arbitration in the case of any disputes or legal challenges.[DEC00] Environmental Impact Assessment During the process of scrutiny of applications the department considers the environmental consequences of the proposed application.The law which deals with environmental impact is the Electricity Works(Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2000.These regulations have been recently updated to reflect the EU’s public participation directive and the revised regulations have been published in 2007.In the case of onsite wind farms which the farmer is planning to develop there is an additional guidelines which deals with the cumulative environmental impacts of the windfarm on the local community and the resources.Certain areas are declared as Special Protection Areas and the Special Areas of conservatives.[UKG97]These are required to be established under the EC Birds and Habitats directives.If the land under question is any of the above certain additional guidelines need to be adopted and followed by the wind farm operator . Impact on Tourism and Aviation The Economic Impact of Wind Farm on Scottish Tourism has been documented and it has been found that wind energy may add to the number of tourists visiting the area.These findings can be presented to the local populations and may be used in getting their backing for the project.National Air Traffic Services have published the Wind Farm Safeguarding maps which needs to be consulted by the application as part of the pre-application process.As wind farms can cause disruption in air traffic this consultation process is absolutely essential in order to avoid disappointment at a later stage.there are also guidance from the Department for Business , Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BEFR) regarding the military impact of onshore wind farms.the BERR should also be consulted by the operator during the pre-application process and their approval should be obtained. Likely Opposition to the Wind Farm Wind farms have been facing lot of opposition from the local population and a large number of projects have been cancelled due to non-receipt of permission from the local planning authorities.There are many factors which determine the opposition to the windfarms.The principal opposition from local groups is regarding the visual impact and the spoiling of the landscape of the area concerned.[Gre071]They residents also complain about the noise associated with windfarms and thus creation of nusiance.The opposition is also related to the distractions caused to the motorist who drive by the wind farms causing an increased rate of accidents.The locals may also claim the likely negative impact on TV reception , major disruptions which are likely to be caused during construction and the harm on the local tourist industry. Conclusion Both the wind farm and the waste to energy plant is likely to face opposition from the locals.It is this opposition which needs to be handled in order to get permission from the local planning authorities.Wind farm is lightly to get more support due to the UK government’s energy obligations in which 1/3rd of the total energy has to be produced by renewable energy in the next 20 years.The best path ahead will be to take the opinion of the local population before moving ahead with the application stage of either project.Both the possibilities need to be discussed with them and their opinion should be sought on which is more feasible and how the negative impacts on the local community can be curtailed by the developers. Refrences Department of energy and Climate change. (October 2007). The consenting process for onshore generating stations above 50 MW in England and Wales. Available: https://www.og.decc.gov.uk/EIP/pages/files/file42017.pdf. Last accessed 16th September 2011. DECC. (March 2010). Onshore Power Station Consents. Available: https://www.og.decc.gov.uk/EIP/pages/onshore.htm. Last accessed 16th October 2011 DECC. (2000). Guidance on the Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2000. Available: https://www.og.decc.gov.uk/EIP/pages/files/file21857.pdf. Last accessed 14th October 2011. Evan B. Tilesman (2008). Advances in Environmental Research, Volume 1. London: Nova Publishers, 2008.  Great Britain: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2007). The air quality strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Volume 1. Scotland: The Stationery Office. .. J. Robinson (2007). Climate change law: emissions trading in the EU and the UK. London: Cameron May, Kevin Dunion (2003). Troublemakers: the struggle for environmental justice in Scotland. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. R. Day, E. Rowland, J. A. Reader (2003). Health, safety and environment legislation: a pocket guide. Yorkshire: Royal Society of chemistry R. G. P. Hawkins, H. S. Shaw (2004). The practical guide to waste management law. UK: Thomas Telford. Renewable Advisory Board. (October 2007). Onshore Wind Energy Planning Conditions Guidance Note. Available: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file35240.pdf. Last accessed 16th October 2011 Scotland, Stationery Office, The, Scotland. Scottish Executive (2002).The Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000. London: Stationery Office,. .. The Scottish Government. (2011). Energy Consents - Guidance for Developers. Available: http://scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/Infrastructure/Energy-Consents/Guidance. Last accessed 16th October 2011. UK Government. (1989). electricty Act 1989. Available: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/29/contents. Last accessed  UK Government. (1997). Town and Country Planning(Scotland)Act 1997.Available: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/8/contents. Last accessed 16th October 2011. Read More