Strategic Environmental Assessment and the precautionary principle in the spatial planning of wind farms – European experience in Serbia

Abstract

Spatial determination planning is at an initial and very sensitive step in the development of wind farms. On one hand, it is important to maximize the potential of wind in a particular area, and on the other hand, it is important to achieve environmental protection (including the human population and natural heritage) in the same space at the same time. With this in mind, it is important to balance all the requirements that are relevant for reaching the optimal solution when determining the micro-location of wind turbines at the earliest stages of the planning and development of wind power projects. In this context, planning is a key stage in finding sustainable solutions for the implementation of such projects, and an indispensable instrument in the planning process, offering support and control is Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). This paper presents the role of SEA in the planning process for wind farms. The place of the SEA process is identified in relation to other environmental impact assessment instruments, such as Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), and a comparative analysis of these instruments is made, including their advantages and disadvantages. The results of the paper indicate the importance of applying SEA in the earliest stage of wind farm planning, so as to formally apply the precautionary principle and avoid problems, which in the later stages of the project, when EIA is usually used, can be disadvantageous both economically and in terms of environmental impact.