Green Cat Renewables has undertaken Environmental Impact Assessments on a wide range of wind and hydro projects.
Our capabilities include:
Environmental Assessment:
In addition, our Environmental Planning Team has built up a wealth of experience dealing with statutory consultees including SNH, SEPA and Historic Scotland. Our broad understanding of planning requirements and long established relationships enable the team to quickly find effective solutions to manage planning risk.
We are technical experts in carrying out Energy Yield Assessments for wind, solar and hydro schemes across the UK, informing project benefits to assist in the financing process in a cost effective and flexible manner.
In most cases we would suggest undertaking a feasibility study to understand the resource and constraints your particular site has. Our team has vast and varied experience of 420+ unique sites which means we have hands-on experience in dealing with, and finding solutions for, a wide range of often complex environmental, technical and engineering constraints.
A feasibility study and assessment would generally include the following:
A proposed plan for the development of the project would be set out which then leads into the project design phase.
Landscape & Visual Impacts are amongst the most critically assessed area of any renewable energy development and in particular wind projects. The Planning and Environmental Department within Green Cat Renewables has an experienced team of Landscape Consultants and Graphic Technicians. The team has supported the delivery and assessment of almost 200 renewable energy projects, ranging from small-scale wind turbines, to large commercial wind farms, solar parks and hydroelectric schemes. As well as supporting the overall planning team in project delivery, standalone LVIA, Residential Assessment and Visualisation work can also be undertaken. All work is carried out to current standards as set by SNH and relevant Local Authorities, utilising the latest software and technology, such as GIS Mapping, ReSoft Windfarm and Augmented Reality Real-Time Visualisation software.
Our Landscape Consultants are experienced in the following:
Having taken more than 200 projects through the planning process Green Cat Renewables has developed a broad range of expertise in pre-planning and post-construction noise assessment, with a pro-active approach to assessing and addressing noise related issues.
Our dedicated team of noise specialists has developed significant experience of noise assessment including measuring wind turbine sound power levels, identifying faults using noise measurement, construction noise assessment and designing noise insulation solutions for plant enclosures. The team has supported in the delivery of over 200 wind projects through the planning phase, in addition to providing ongoing post-construction monitoring services for planning compliance and complaint investigation through the operational phase.
With our dedicated team of Environmental Consultants, Project Managers, Engineers and Technical Specialists, the Planning and Environmental Team can provide the full range of support services, tailored to your needs, to economically deliver small to large scale wind and solar PV projects from initial feasibility through to planning consent. In addition the team are supported by the GCR Engineering, Technical Services and Geotechnical Departments who provide invaluable input and advice through all phases of the project development.
The team of project managers have built up considerable experience working with planning authorities across Scotland and England. This in-depth knowledge of local planning policy and the established relationships with planning departments and officers has meant that almost 90% of our consented developments were able to be determined at a local level, the benefit of this to the project and client is that timescales and planning risk are both significantly reduced.
An important aspect in the development of any renewable energy project is public consultation and community engagement. Our business was formed to serve the smaller scale locally owned and community owned renewables market. Public engagement is central to the success of this type of project.
Green Cat have significant experience in:
In addition we are able to provide specialist Residential Visual Amenity Assessment (RVAS) for residential dwellings closest to the proposed development. With the aid of real-time visualisations via iPad software, we are able to show local residents a real-time image of how a proposed development will appear in the landscape.
