SEA expert contributions and environmental report for wind energy
Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) for wind farms: contributions on noise, shadow, landscape, forestry and more, summarised in the environmental report.
The strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a central instrument for assessing environmental impacts early. We prepare SEA expert contributions that meet the requirements of the SEA Directive and national rules: precise and well structured.
The SEA does not assess the individual project but the plan that sets its framework. For wind farms in Austria, this is mainly spatial planning: the federal provinces may designate zones in which wind power is possible. In Lower Austria, for example, the land-use designation “Grünland-Windkraftanlagen” (grassland for wind turbines) is permitted only within such zones of a supra-local spatial planning programme. Whether a municipal rezoning is additionally required depends on the Lower Austrian legislation in force and the respective supra-local spatial planning programme. Strict conflict criteria there include Natura 2000 sites, national parks, nature parks and nature and landscape conservation areas. Further conflict criteria are nature conservation, townscape and landscape, tourism and grid infrastructure. For landscape, large landscape areas and sight lines are kept free to avoid cumulative effects. Minimum distances to residential uses depend on the provincial legislation in force and on local spatial planning; in Lower Austria they are regulated in the Spatial Planning Act and must be checked for the specific site. Plans that set the framework for project approvals, for example in energy or spatial planning, are subject to assessment. In the case of minor modifications to plans, it must be examined on a case-by-case basis whether significant environmental effects are likely to occur and an SEA is therefore required.
The environmental report is the core of the SEA. It describes the state of the environment, the characteristics of the areas concerned, including Special Protection Areas under the Birds Directive and Habitats Directive sites, and the likely effects on protected assets such as population, animals, plants, landscape and cultural heritage. It also covers measures to avoid and reduce effects, the reasons for the chosen alternatives, monitoring and a non-technical summary. The authorities are consulted on scope and level of detail; in Lower Austria, for example, the environmental advocacy body confirmed the investigation framework in advance. The draft and the environmental report are made available for comment before the decision is taken. The SEA Directive aims to avoid duplicate assessments and allows existing environmental information to be used. Detailed questions are settled in the later approval procedures; the SEA works at the supra-local level.
The expert contributions cover noise, shadow impact, landscape including visibility analysis and photomontages, as well as forestry and other specialist topics. We summarise them in an environmental report that is compact and traceable. For the noise assessment, sound immission measurement supplies the data basis, and detailed nature conservation surveys deepen the nature conservation topics. Our team reliably accompanies you through all phases of the rezoning process, from collecting the data basis to expert support in the SEA procedure. In the next step, we assist with the expert support for the rezoning procedure and preparation of the submission documents (SEA). For photovoltaic, there are the expert contributions to the rezoning procedure. In this way, the data basis becomes, step by step, a robust foundation for the municipality's decision. On this basis, the municipality, residents and specialist agencies can follow the planning early and submit their comments.
