This
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report addresses the potential
environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation of aa project entitled “Renewable Energy by a Wind
Turbine System on Lamma Island” (hereinafter
referred to as the Project).
The Project is classified as a Designated Project by
virtue of Item D.1 of Part I of Schedule 2 (ie public utility electricity power
plant) under the Environmental Impact
Assessment Ordinance (Cap. 499) (EIAO).
This report has
beenis prepared by ERM-Hong Kong, Limited
(ERM) in association with, and on behalf of, The Hongkong Electric Co Ltd (HEC), in accordance with
the EIA Study Brief (No.
ESB-112/2004) and the Technical Memorandum of the
Environmental Impact Assessment Process (EIAO-TM). The Study
Area for the Project is presented in Figure
1.1.
The Hongkong Electric Co Ltd (HEC) is committed to
providing a high quality
power supply to its customers with due care for the environment. Recognizing the importance of
sustainable development, HEC is proposing to install a wind turbine of capacity
ranging from 600 to 850kW as a demonstration project to utilize wind energy for
renewable power generation on Lamma Island, Hong Kong.
Following the completion of a 12-month wind power
monitoring exercise onat
Lamma Island in
November 2002, a wind atlas was developed to assess the wind potential of Lammathe iIsland. A number of areas were identified as
having wind power density over 150W/m2, equivalent to thean average wind speed of about 5.5m/s, and generally
considered suitable for wind energy utilization. The existing power supply to Lamma Island residents and businesses
is by
means of through 11kV power lines,
transformer pillars and low voltage distribution cables from the existing Lamma
Power Station.
The wind turbine is proposed to be located at Tai
Ling Tsuen (Figure
1.1) and the output will be connected to the
existing power grid for supplying renewable energy to Lamma
Island residentsHEC customers.
The operation of the wind turbine will be monitored and controlled
through a central monitoring system located in a control room of the Lamma
Power Station. The wind turbine
site will be unmanned and will only require attendance of operational personnel
during emergency or routine maintenance (or in emergency).
The purpose of the EIA is to provide information on the nature and extent of environmental impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project and related activities that take place concurrently, to contribute to decisions on:
· The overall acceptability of any adverse environmental consequences that are likely to arise as a result of the Project;
· The conditions and requirements for the detailed design, construction and operation of the Project to mitigate against adverse environmental consequences wherever practicable; and
· The acceptability of residual impacts after the proposed mitigation measures are implemented.
The detailed requirements of the EIA Study are set out in the EIA Study Brief. The objectives of the EIA Study are:
i.
To describe the Project and associated works
and phases of development together with the requirements and environmental
benefits for carrying out the Project;
ii.
To provide information on the consideration
of alternative sites to avoid and minimize the potential adverse environmental
impacts, and to provide justifications and constraints for selecting the
proposed option and to describe the part environmental factors played in the
selection process;
iii. To
identify and describe the elements of the community and environment likely to
be affected by the Project and/or likely to cause adverse impacts to the
Project, including both the natural and man-made environment and the associated
environmental constraints;
iv. To
identify and quantify emission sources and determine the significance of impacts
on sensitive receivers and potential affected uses;
v.
To identify and quantify any potential
losses or damage to flora, fauna and natural habitats;
vi. To
identify and quantify any potential landscape and visual impacts and to propose
measures to mitigate these impacts;
vii. To
identify the negative impacts and propose the provision of mitigation measures
so as to minimize pollution, environmental disturbance and nuisance during
construction and operation of the Project;
viii. To
investigate the feasibility, practicability, effectiveness and implications of
the proposed mitigation measures;
ix. To
identify, predict and evaluate the residual environmental impacts (i.e. after
practicable mitigation) and the cumulative effects expected to arise during the
construction and operation phases of the Project in relation to the sensitive
receivers and potential affected uses;
x.
To identify, assess and specify methods,
measures and standards, to be included in the detailed design, construction and
operation of the Project which are necessary to mitigate these environmental
impacts and cumulative effects and reduce them to acceptable levels;
xi. To
identify constraints associated with the mitigation measures recommended in the
EIA study, as well as the provision of any necessary modification; and
xii. To
design and specify the environmental monitoring and audit requirements to
ensure the effective implementation of the recommended environmental protection
and pollution control measures.
As specified by
the EIA Study Brief, the EIA has
addressed the following key environmental issues associated with the
construction and operation of the Project.
·
The potential noise pollution impacts on nearby sensitive receivers
during construction and operation of the Project;
·
The potential ecological impact arising from the construction and
operation of the Project, including loss of habitats and disturbance to wildlife,
and the potential risk to any animal(s), especiallyincluding birds(s,) during
the operation of the wind turbine system;
·
The potential landscape and visual impacts on existing and planned
sensitive receivers during the construction and operation of the Project; and
·
The potential air and water quality impacts during the construction
stage of the Project.
The remainder of this EIA Report comprises the following sections.
Section 2 |
Provides information on the consideration of alternatives for the siting, design and operation of the Project. |
|
Section 3 |
Provides a description of the Project highlighting the key infrastructure for the Project and the operation activities. |
|
Section 4 |
Presents the findings of the noise impact assessment |
|
Section 5 |
Presents the findings of the ecology impact assessment |
|
Section 6 |
Presents the findings of the landscape and visual impact assessment |
|
Section 7 |
Presents the findings of the air quality impact assessment. |
|
Section 8 |
Presents the findings of the water quality impact assessment. |
|
Section 9 |
Presents the environmental monitoring and audit (EM&A) requirements for the construction and operation of the Project. |
|
Section 10 |
Provides a summary of the conclusions and environmental outcomes drawn from the detailed assessment of the Project. |
Annex A Site Search Report
Annex B Noise Assessment Information
Annex C Ecology
Baseline ConditionsList of Floral and Faunal Species recorded within
the Study Area
Annex D Implementation Schedule
Contents
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Background 1
1.3 Purpose
and Objectives of this EIA Report 2
1.4 Structure
of this Report 3
1 INTRODUCTION 1-1
1.1 Introduction 1-1
1.2 Background 1-1
1.3 Purpose
and Objectives of this EIA Report 1-2
1.4 Structure
of this Report 1-3
1 INTRODUCTION 1-
1.1 Introduction 1-
1.2 Background 1-
1.3 Purpose
and Objectives of this EIA Report 1-
1.4 Structure
of this Report 1-
1 INTRODUCTION 1-1
1.1 Introduction 1-1
1.2 Background 1-1
1.3 Purpose and Objectives of
this EIA Report 1-2
1.4 Structure of this Report 1-3