Open consultation Offshore Renewable Energy Action Plan (OREAP): Consultation on the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Environmental Report and Report to Inform Appropriate Assessment (RIAA)

Summary

This public consultation sets out the findings of the SEA and the RIAA and gives stakeholders an opportunity to provide input into Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) policy development.

Documents

• OREAP - Consultation on the SEA Environmental Report and RIAA Adobe PDF (8 MB)
• Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Environmental Report Adobe PDF (17 MB)
• Report to Inform Appropriate Assessment (RIAA) Adobe PDF (5 MB)
• Offshore Renewable Energy Action Plan for NI Adobe PDF (301 KB)
• Offshore Renewable Energy Consultation on the SEA & RIAA - Equality screening Microsoft Word (79 KB)
• Offshore Renewable Energy Consultation on the SEA & RIAA - Privacy notice Microsoft Word (68 KB)

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Consultation description

The Offshore Renewable Energy Action Plan (OREAP) was developed to enable the ambition for offshore renewable energy to be taken forward collaboratively with key delivery partners. ORE development in our marine area offers an opportunity for both decarbonisation and economic benefit for communities and businesses.

A key action within the OREAP was to undertake an update to the 2012 Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) of Offshore Renewable Energy in our Marine Area.  RPS Ireland were commissioned to update these environmental assessments which we are now consulting on.

We encourage stakeholders who will be impacted by ORE development and the wider energy sector to consider the contents of this consultation and supplementary materials and share their comments. This will provide the Department with valuable insight, which will be analysed and considered as part of the ongoing development of the OREAP.

The latest version of the OREAP has also been published with the government response to the draft OREAP public consultation.

Public Engagements

Public meetings will be held in person to gather feedback as part of the consultation process. These meetings will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to share their views and contribute to the discussion. The dates and locations of these events will be announced soon and will be updated on our website once all details are finalised. We encourage all parties to check the website regularly for the latest information.

Ways to respond

When responding via email or in writing, please state whether you are responding as an individual or representing the views of an organisation (please state the name of the organisation). All responses should quote the following reference “OREAP: Consultation on the SEA Environmental Report and RIAA.” 

A hard copy of the consultation and associated documents will be available to view upon request at the Department for the Economy, Adelaide House, 39-49 Adelaide St, Belfast, BT2 8FD. 

To arrange a viewing please contact the Offshore Renewable Electricity Team at:

•  renewableelectricity@economy-ni.gov.uk