Dedicated experts successfully siting and permitting renewable energy projects.
DNV’s Environmental and Permitting Services (EPS) team understands the design, construction, and operations constraints of renewable energy projects. Our team streamlines the process by using a project lifecycle approach to siting, environmental and human impact studies, and permit preparation. We consider potential mitigation, construction, and operational compliance measures at an early stage to provide clarity on future financial risks.
Introduction
DNV’s EPS team focuses on renewable energy projects and consequently has an in-depth understanding of the project design requirements and their unique environmental issues. By working on over 30,000 MW of renewable energy throughout North America, our permitting project managers and scientists have a comprehensive understanding of efficient project development and implementation. We can support your project from siting to decommissioning - a single source for all your environmental, permitting, and compliance needs. DNV has identified six vital areas where we want to support you:
- Environmental permitting
- Siting services
- Biological services
- Stakeholder engagement support
- Construction and operational compliance support
- Hearing and expert witness support
Environmental Permitting
With over 10,000 MW of comprehensive permit management experience, DNV is well suited to handle permitting in all jurisdictions in North America. DNV can quickly adapt its approach to meet the requirements of local regulations and policies.
Siting Services
With environmental studies completed on over 30,000 MW of wind, solar, and battery storage projects in over 50 jurisdictions in North America, DNV’s Siting Services team understands the design, construction, and operation constraints of renewable energy projects. Our team leverages in-house developed tools to provide cost-effective technical studies designed to streamline and support project siting, permitting, and financing. DNV’s siting engineers provide technical solutions early in the development process based on construction and financing experience with environmental approvals by regulatory agencies across North America. Our integrated approach to development is successful because it combines our knowledge from several of our key service lines:
- Permit matrix and road maps
- Acoustic services
- Shadow flicker and glint and glare modeling
- Project layout optimization
- Visual simulations and studies
- Ice throw and blade failure
- Radiocommunication and interference studies
- Decommission cost estimates and plans
Biological Services
DNV’s scientists and biologists plan, conduct and oversee pre- and post-construction environmental studies for renewable energy projects including, but not limited to:
- Avian Use Surveys - this would cover breeding bird and migratory birds.
- Vegetation Studies
- Wildlife Surveys:
- Eagle and Other Raptor Surveys
- Bat Acoustic Monitoring, and Threatened
- Endangered Species Surveys
- Habitat Assessment
- Wetland and Watercourse Studies
- Rare Plant Surveys
- Cultural Resource Surveys
Additional biological services are described below under Compliance Support.
Stakeholder Engagement Support
Early and effective agency and stakeholder engagement promotes a timely permitting process. DNV project managers draw from their experiences working with developers to tailor agency correspondence and documentation to mitigate future project risks. DNV has experience leading and coordinating community meetings, as well as providing innovative services during stakeholder engagement activities such as audio representation of turbine sounds or animated simulations. DNV also has in-house technical experts that can provide open house or regulatory hearing support. DNV attended over 100 community meetings over the last two years. Let us guide you.
Construction and Operational Compliance Support
Once renewable facilities receive regulatory approvals and financing, construction and operations can present permitting and compliance challenges. DNV has a wealth of experience negotiating client specific permit conditions and preparing project-specific or corporate-wide management plans, such as:
- Environmental Management Plans (EMP)
- Compensatory Mitigation Plan development
- Construction- Operational-phase sound monitoring
- Complaints and incidents resolution processes
- Synergi Compliance and Incident Tracking Software
- Support creation or update of Corporate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
- Avian and Bat Protection Plans for wind projects and Wildlife Protection Plans for solar, hydrogen, and storage projects
- Construction and Operational Phase Compliance Gap Analysis
Hearing and Expert Witness Support
DNV acts as an expert witness in litigation, mediation, arbitration, and environmental hearings for renewable energy projects across North America. Whether an environmental review tribunal or a litigation being heard at a Superior Court of Justice, DNV’s experts are recognized for the experience and authority that they bring. DNV’s specialists have provided expert testimony on a wide range of subjects, including wind turbine noise, shadow flicker, project siting, environmental permitting, decommissioning, ice throw, turbine collapse, wind turbine technology, wind turbine foundation design and wind turbine foundation construction. Having acted as expert witnesses in over 45 different cases, representing more than 3,900 MW, DNV proposes engineers and permitting experts with recognized authority, a strong track record and that are readily qualified experts in their field.
Our specialists present expert opinion clearly and concisely, allowing complex technical issues to be understood by all stakeholders.
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