Consultation on Environmental Compensatory Measures for Offshore Wind in Northern Ireland

Overview

This consultation seeks views on environmental compensation measures for offshore wind projects that are developed within the Northern Ireland inshore region (0-12 nautical miles). It sets out how environmental compensation should be identified and delivered where offshore wind projects give rise to unavoidable adverse effects on protected marine sites.

The proposals are intended to introduce a more flexible approach to environmental compensation for offshore wind development. This includes enabling the use of wider compensatory measures where adverse effects on the integrity of protected sites cannot be avoided. The intention is not to reduce existing environmental protections. Rather, the proposals are intended to provide a more effective, strategic and deliverable means of securing compensatory outcomes.

To support this approach, DAERA is considering amendments to the Habitats Regulations in Northern Ireland to allow a broader range of compensatory measures for offshore wind projects. Draft guidance is being developed alongside the proposed legislative changes to explain how the approach would operate in practice.