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THE APPROACH The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a systematic way to examine the likely effects of a strategic action on the environment and to suggest ways to either enhance or to mitigate these effects. The formal SEA process as required by European and National law applies to the assessment of specific plans or programmes. Given that there is no formal wind power development plan or programme in Bulgaria at present, the development of wind power cannot be assessed by a formal SEA that complies with all of the mandatory requirements under the SEA Directive or under Bulgarian legislation. Therefore, the consortium, with the approval of the MEET, the Ministry of Environment and Water (MoEW) and the EBRD, decided to undertake a SER which draws on best practice and relevant approaches from the application of SEA. THE SER PROCESS Stage A – SER scoping The scoping stage was structured around seven topic papers under the following headings: • Energy, climate and air quality • Cultural heritage • Fauna, flora and biodiversity • Soil and water • Landscape • Public health, noise and vibration • Socio-economic and material assets AUTHORS T Ramos, J Soares, P Wouters AIM The aim of this project was to assist Bulgarian authorities with: • Assessment of options for the development of wind power. • Ensuring that positive impacts of renewable energy options are not reduced by potential negative impacts on local landscapes, communities and biodiversity. PROJECT BACKGROUND The development of environmentally sustainable sources of electricity is increasingly becoming a priority for governments and a business opportunity for national and international developers. Wind power is one of the renewable energy sources (RES) that has experienced a strong growth over the past decade. However, in many countries, including Bulgaria, the implementation of wind power has proceeded at greater pace than the development of the accompanying governmental policies. This project was preformed by a consortium led by Ramboll Environ Iberia as part of a project aimed at assisting the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism (the “client” or “MEET”) with the preparation of a policy for the sustainable development of wind power in the country. The project is funded by the Spanish government through the EBRD-ICEX Technical Cooperation Funds and the contracting party is the MEET. DEVELOPMENT OF WIND POWER IN BULGARIA In 2005, Bulgaria had 7.5 MW installed capacity. In March 2010 the Bulgarian total installed and operating capacity was 351,6 MW. Nevertheless, the contribution of wind power is expected to significantly increase in the coming years. Assuming that most of the projects currently with preliminary contracts will be implemented, a total capacity of 2.371,8 MW is expected to be installed. This means a generation of 4.980 GWh/year or around 12% of the present gross electricity consumption. According to MEET, in 2008 wind power in Bulgaria represented about 6.8% of the total installed capacity of Renewable energy sources (RES). In 2010, wind energy represented 4,2% of the electricity produced by Renewable energy sources (RES). Because of this expected significant increase, it is important to establish a clear strategy for wind power development in order to the guarantee the correct implementation of wind power projects in Bulgaria. Strategic Environmental Review of the Development of Wind Power in Bulgaria SEA stage B – generating alternatives The likely impacts of current wind power development in Bulgaria have been considered in relation to each SER objective and their significance has been assessed. SER stage C/D – public consultation In order to receive the opinions, comments and recommendation of all relevant stakeholders, a consultation process was conducted. RESULTS OF THE SER PROCESS The assessment process involved collecting information, defining alternatives, identifying environmental effects, developing mitigation measures and revising proposals/making recommendations in the light of predicted environmental effects. The impacts of current wind power development in Bulgaria have been considered in relation to each SER objective. For each objective the significance of the likely impacts has been assessed. The evaluation of significant effects has shown that one of the main concerns for wind power developments in Bulgaria are related to the protection of fauna, flora and biodiversity. The development of wind power has been evaluated as having major negative effects on the identified SER objectives. Additionally to the assessment performed a Geographical Information System (GIS) was used to manage and analyse the data which was collected. Based on available information regarding environmental and social constraints, the territory of Bulgaria has been classified into five area types, in accordance to the following sensitivity definitions: 1. Areas with explicit legislative prohibition for wind power development. 2. Areas with high sensitivity to wind power development. 3. Areas with medium sensitivity to wind power development. 4. Areas with low sensitivity to wind power development. 5. Areas with no or unknown sensitivity to wind power development. CONCLUSIONS Wind power provides clean energy and its incorporation into the Bulgarian energy mix will help the country to meet its acquired obligations towards the EU with respect to the percentage of RES it needs to achieve in 2020. The use of wind power will also reduce the dependency on foreign energy suppliers. However, Bulgaria is a country with an important natural heritage, and given its great richness in biodiversity and the occurrence of many species that are at risk of extinction, care should be taken during the site selection and the detailed design of wind farms. For certain highly sensitive areas, wind power development in these areas should be approached with upmost care and a detailed EIA will show that the implementation of wind power is not viable as the associated risks cannot be mitigated to acceptable levels, at least not with current wind power technology. CONTACT Tiago Ramos [email protected] WWW.RAMBOLL-ENVIRON.COM
