Technical report 1. EOWDC research project: A literature review on the socio-economic impacts of offshore wind farms (OWFs) and their assessment

Abstract

Executive summary. This research report seeks to provide a systematic review of current literature (both academic and grey) on socio-economic impact assessment methodology and mitigation/enhancement methods. It includes academic, industry and government literature relating to OWF published over the 10 years to 2019. The review first considers impact assessment methodology, and then its application to Offshore Wind Farms (OWFs), for both economic and social impacts. There is then a specific examination of socio-economic impacts of OWFs, with particular reference to Scotland. The executive summary here briefly sets out the nature of socio-economic impacts and their assessment, and associated challenges and opportunities in relation to OWF development, especially in Scotland. Nature of socio-economic impacts and their assessment: Socio-economic impacts can be summarised as the "people effects" of development actions. They cover a wide range of social and economic impacts and the boundaries are fuzzy between social and economic impacts. Economic impacts can range from the macro-impacts on a nation's GNP to the impact on construction workers' wage levels in a town adjacent to a project. Social impacts may include impacts on local demographics, livelihoods, housing, local services, and wellbeing and community cohesion. Socio-economic impact assessment seeks to identify the impacts of development actions on people, and who benefits and who loses; it can help to build the needs and voices of diverse groups in a community into project planning and decision-making. The consideration of the social and economic impacts of major developments has been the poor relation of impact assessment until the current century. However, it is now a much more important element in the assessment of the impacts of major projects. Evolving international guidance, standards and legislation on SIA stress the importance of maximizing opportunities for local content (i.e. jobs for local people and local procurement), and the necessity for a ...