August 6, 2023 | By Heidi Asten (Partner), Peter Briggs (Partner), Brigitte Rheinberger (Senior Associate) and Mayumi Martins (Graduate) | hsfnotes.com
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) has published the ‘Key environmental factors for offshore windfarm environmental impact assessment under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999’ (Guidance Document).
There are 13 key impacts to be assessed by offshore wind proponents.
The Guidance Document identifies 13 key impacts typically associated with offshore wind projects which should be considered when undertaking EIA. As the guidance is intended to apply nationally, not all of the impacts may be relevant to each projet.
The 13 impacts are:
For each of the 13 key impacts identified, the Guidance Document provides information on:
Approach to assessing cumulative impacts
The Guidance Document notes that the process of declaring specific areas as suitable for offshore projects will likely result in having multiple projects in one area. The Guidance Document states that proponents should, where possible, take into account potential impacts of each project.
DCCEEW is still considering a policy approach to assessing cumulative impacts of offshore wind projects and has flagged that additional guidelines may be published in the future.
Monitoring data
As part of a broader suite of reforms to the EPBC Act, the Commonwealth is establishing Environment Information Australia, to identify and consolidate key environmental data to improve availability and accuracy.
The Guidance Document notes that while the reforms are ongoing, proponents of offshore wind projects are encouraged to voluntarily provide data and study outcomes to DCCEEW.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2023/08/07/new-guidelines-on-environmental-impact-assessments-for-offshore-wind-projects-released/