The Hongkong Electric
Company Ltd (hereinafter referred to as HK Electric), is proposing the
development of an offshore wind farm in the Hong Kong SAR. The project will produce around 100 MW
of electricity, which will be supplied directly to the HK Electric grid network
to help meet the HKSAR Government commitments to renewable energy generation
and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
The following elements of the Project are classified
as Designated Projects under the Environmental
Impact Assessment Ordinance (Cap. 499)
(EIAO):
·
Schedule 2, Part I, Item D.1. – Public
Utility Electricity Power Plant.
This report is prepared by ERM-Hong Kong, Ltd (ERM) in
accordance with EIA Study Brief (No. ESB-151/2006) and the Technical
Memorandum of the Environmental Impact Assessment Process (EIAO-TM).
This EIA Report addresses the key environmental
issues associated with the construction and operation of the proposed wind farm
and addresses the detailed requirements of the EIA Study Brief. This
information will contribute to decisions by the Director of the Environmental
Protection Department on:
·
The
overall acceptability of any adverse environmental consequences that could
arise as a result of the Project;
·
The
conditions and requirements for the detailed design, construction and operation
of the Project to mitigate against any adverse environmental consequences; and
·
The acceptability
of residual impacts after the proposed mitigation measures are
implemented.
As specified by the EIA Study Brief, the EIA addresses the key environmental issues
associated the construction and operation of the wind farm.
As a primary supplier of electricity in
In order to determine the feasibility for the
development of an offshore wind farm in
The wind farm and cable route are located in the
waters between
1.5
The
Scoping of Environmental Issues
The potential environmental impacts which may arise
from the construction and operation of the wind farm have been identified and
discussed in the Project Profile for this Project ([1]). The specific scope for the EIA is
presented in Clause 3.2 of the EIA Study Brief.
Following
this introductory section, the remainder of this EIA Report is arranged as follows:
Section 2 This section discussed the need for the
development of an offshore wind farm in
Section 3 This section of the EIA report presents
the findings of assessments considering alternative sites for the offshore wind
farm in Hong Kong Waters.
Section 4 This
section provides a discussion of the design and construction options that have
been considered.
Section 5 Provides a description of the Project
highlighting the key infrastructure to be constructed, the timeline for
implementing the Project and the operational activities. This section forms the basis of the
technical assessments presented in Sections
6 – 15 below.
Section 6 Details the assessment of impacts to water
quality sensitive receivers arising from the construction and operation of the
wind farm.
Section 7 Presents the waste management implications
from construction and operation of the wind farm.
Section 8 Details the assessment of impacts to
terrestrial ecological resources arising from the construction and operation of
the wind farm.
Section 9 Presents details of an assessment of
impacts from the construction and operation of the wind farm to marine
ecological resources.
Section 10 Details the assessment of impacts to
fisheries resources and fishing operations arising from the construction and
operation of the wind farm.
Section 11 Presents the details of an assessment of
impacts from the construction and operation of the wind farm to landscape and
visual sensitive receivers.
Section 12 Details the assessment of impacts from the
construction and operation of the wind farm to cultural heritage
resources.
Section 13 Presents a summary of the environmental
outcomes of the EIA.
Section 14 Introduces a summary of the environmental
monitoring and audit (EM&A) measures for the Project.
Section 15 Presents the conclusions of the EIA.