Environment and Consents

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OWC’s Environment and Consent team works closely with client project teams to manage the interface between engineering and environment, advising on project development, permitting and planning for offshore and onshore renewable projects.

The team supports a range of clients providing environmental and permitting services throughout the project lifecycle including early feasibility, survey management, environmental impact assessment (EIA) interface, post-consent compliance and O&M. The team build-in environmental value throughout a project’s development and delivery and is embedded in OWCs multi-disciplinary engineering teams, providing greater visibility on potential permitting constraints and allowing teams to identify and manage consenting risks, with the aim of reducing delays and costs.

We operate across all regions and draw on our international environmental and consenting experience, while working closely with trusted local partners to utilise local knowledge and content within the project team.

lara-lawrie

Lara Lawrie

Director of Environment and Consents

Market Challenges

Environmental consultancies at capacity.

Emerging markets with limited offshore permitting experience.

Skills shortage and limited knowledge sharing.

Increased project costs and delays associated with consenting.

Our Solutions

OWC recognise the strategic importance of building environmental and consenting capabilities into client project teams, making them more resilient to market pressures and better adapted to respond to permitting and regulatory challenges.

Working closely with the client and managing the interface between engineering and environment, our Environment and Consent team combines OWC’s global experience with consent experts who have supported clients in achieving key project milestones across offshore and onshore renewable projects.  

Early Feasibility and Site Selection

  • Environmental constraint analysis to inform site selection
  • Regulatory and permitting study to identify key policy drivers, understand legislative framework and routes to consent
  • Stakeholder identification and engagement plans considering Regulators, environmental bodies and key stakeholders 
  • Social value, marine net gain and environmental enhancement scopes to inform auction bid strategies 

Technical Due Diligence

  • Supporting OWC’s specialist Technical Due Diligence team by providing an objective expert view on permits and licensing, EIA, programme, surveys and stakeholder engagement

Survey Management  

  • Consent management for geophys, environmental and geotech surveys
  • Permit identification, production, submission and management through to determination for marine licencing, exemptions, EPS licences and statutory consultation  
  • Survey management – seabird and marine mammal surveys (Digital Aerial Surveys) including specification review, procurement and stakeholder engagement on methodology and approach

Consenting and Permitting Support  

  • Consent support for permits including Marine Licence, Dredge and Disposal Applications and EPS Licences
  • Consent Strategies and Stakeholder Engagement Plans
  • Production, submission and management of permits through to determination 

EIA Interface Management

  • Working closely with the client project team to manage the interface between engineering, environment and consenting throughout the EIA Scoping, EIA and determination phase
  • Integrated as part of OWCs Owner Engineer package or independent client advisory role  
  • Subcontractor management or interface, to complement and work alongside multi-disciplinary project teams

Post-consent Compliance

  • Post-consent compliance support to meet and discharge consent conditions and monitoring requirements
  • Development of compliance documentation
  • Ongoing liaison with regulators and stakeholders
  • Submission and management of additional marine licences, consent variations, EPS licences

Operations and Maintenance Support

  • O&M consent support for offshore generation and transmission assets
  • Management of marine licence audits, consent variations, annual monitoring reports and post-consent compliance

The value we bring

Extensive involvement with offshore wind environmental impact assessments.

Dedicated package managers enabling direct interface between engineers and environmental specialists.

Innovative team with local presence in 20 countries worldwide.

Proven track record in supporting auction success with experience across >50 projects globally.

Questions? Get in touch

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