Landscape and energy

Energy provision is a fundamental requirement for modern societies. In recent times, concern about climate change means that we need to generate as much as we can through renewable energy. Most of the focus since 2002 has been on wind energy. Wind turbines can have significant landscape impacts. As more and more turbines are built, the cumulative effects need to be carefully considered. Scottish Natural Heritage, the government and industry have responded by producing a range of policies and guidance notes. The following are the key references relevant to landscape. See also renewable energy and the nature and landscapes.

National policy and guidance

Scottish Planning Policy  contains guidance on land-use policy and spatial frameworks for windfarms.

SNH policy

• Climate change and the natural heritage - SNH's approach and action plan (2009)
• Energy and the natural heritage (2006)
• Policy Statement: Renewable Energy (2002)
• Marine Renewable Energy and the natural heritage - an Overview and Policy Statement  (2003)
• Bioenergy and the natural heritage - SNH's approach (2009)

SNH guidance

• Strategic Locational Guidance for Onshore Wind farms in respect of the Natural Heritage (revised 2009)
• Guidelines on the assessment of the environmental impact of small scale windfarms and small scale hydroelectric schemes (2002)
• Cumulative Effect of Wind Farms    (2005) in particular appendix 5 which provides Guidance on Cumulative Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment for Windfarm Developments.
• Natural Heritage assessment of small scale wind energy projects which do not require formal Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)    (2008)
• Visual Representation of Windfarms: Good Practice Guidance  (2007)
• Assessing the impacts on wildland: interim guidance note   (2007) sets out general principles for assessing the potential adverse and beneficial impacts on areas where wildness is best expressed (wild land), including an assessment methodology.  This is an evolving area of work and this is therefore interim guidance to be reviewed in April 2010.

• Siting and designing windfarms in the landscape  helps to guide windfarms towards those landscapes best able to accommodate them and advises on how windfarms can be designed to best relate to their setting and minimise landscape and visual impacts.  You can download a high resolution version of the 'Siting and designing windfarms in the landscape' guidance here  , but please note this file is 13.10MB and may take some time to download. Part 2 provides guidance for Planning Authorities on implementing Scottish Planning Policy  .

Other references

• Visual Assessment of Windfarms: Best Practice  (2002) (Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report)
• An assessment of the sensitivity and capacity of the Scottish seascape in relation to windfarms  (2005) (Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report)
• Energy and the natural heritage (2008) (book, Scottish Natural Heritage conference proceedings)