As part of the Herald Scotland's special report on Renewable Energy, our Director, Dave Anderson spoke to Anthony Harrington about how Cogeo's approach is of benefit to our clients.
A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO RENEWABLES PLANNING IS KEY
The sheer number of areas of specialist knowledge involved in renewable power generation, makes huge demands on all those involved in the consenting process, regardless of which particular technology is involved. Cogeo, the planning and environmental consultancy, aims to address this by taking a multi-disciplinary approach.
As Cogeo director Dave Anderson explains, being able to address all the areas of impact involved in a particular planning application makes the whole applications process a lot more efficient.
“We are able to produce a detailed account of how the various dimensions of a renewables project impact on each other, which helps to derisk the application process for the client,” he notes.
Anderson points out that there are some 15 specific impact areas that can come into play on a renewables project. These include the impact on the ecology, the landscape and visual impact, the societal and economic impact, the cultural heritage, hydrology (the impact on the water table), acoustics, roadway and traffic impacts and how the project fits with planning policy generally.
“We have most of these skills in-house and we can call in other specialists on an as-needed basis. Our network of external experts is extensive, and this is another benefit that we are able to offer to our clients,” he adds.
“We work with people who understand how we work, and that it is all about delivering the full package for clients. The aim is to make life as easy for the client as possible, which means making sure that everyone on the planning team has the same attitude, approach and drive,” he says.
Anderson points out that changes in the subsidy and tariffs regimes has caused some significant changes in market demand. “What we are seeing is a growing interest among commercial and industrial energy users to find ways of off-setting their energy usage. In the past we were dealing with a lot of landowners basing their decisions around tariffs. Now it is high energy business users looking for a high energy solution that will provide them with energy security and a great price,” he comments.
Some commercial users find themselves with an expanding business and a need for more energy than the grid is able to deliver to them in their existing location. Cogeo helps them to explore the various renewable options, including wind, solar, battery storage and biomass.
To read the full special report on The Herald's website click here
TO SPEAK TO OUR EXPERT TEAM ABOUT YOUR RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT CALL 0141 212 1322
