Hogan Lovell OffshoreBook 2023 230809 OnlinePDF - Flipbook - Page 201
Offshore Wind Worldwide 2023
3. PUBLIC LAW AND
REGULATORY PERMITS
REQUIRED FOR THE
CONSTRUCTION AND
OPERATION OF THE
OFFSHORE WIND FARM
AND THE ONSHORE
GRID CONNECTION
The relevant stages of investments relating
to OWFs include obtaining an OWF location
permit, a cable location permit, an EEZ cable
location approval, the building and occupancy permits, and fulfilling the numerous
requirement conditions concerning environmental protection (including obtaining an
environmental decision and a water permit).
The grid connection is to be secured based
on the GCC (preliminary GCC), and the GCA.
The OWF location permit is issued by the
relevant minister for maritime areas. Its issuance is complex and time-consuming since
it requires the cooperation of ten different
ministries (there are specific technical issues
to be agreed upon, for example concerning
environmental protection matters), as well
as the internal security agency. It is issued
for the period from the date on which the
decision for a given OWF became final, until
the expiration of 30 years from the date on
which the use of this OWF began (it can, however, be extended by up to 20 years). If, within eight years from the date of the permit’s
issue (which can be extended by up to two
years) the entity to which the permit was
granted does not obtain a building permit
for all or part of the project implemented
in stages, the authority will state that it has
expired. See also section 2.2 above.
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The cable location permit is issued by the
director of the relevant maritime office in
agreement with the relevant ministers and
in the case of onshore cables also in agreement with a relevant local government body.
The cable location within an EEZ has to be
agreed with the relevant minister for maritime areas in the form of a decision after consulting relevant ministers and the internal
security agency. The cable location permit
as well as the EEZ cable location approval
are issued for the period of 35 years from
the date on which the decision became final,
however, with respect to the set of devices
used for power transmission for the period
from the date on which the decision became
final until the expiration of 30 years from the
date on which the use of this OWF began,
from which power is transmitted using these
devices (it can, however, be extended by up
to 20 years).
Obtaining an OWF location permit, a cable
location permit, and the approval of the
cable’s location within an EEZ are connected
with the obligation to pay a fee (ca. EUR 350),
and in the case of an OWF location permit
– with an additional fee which is the equivalent of 1% of the value of the planned investment. The 1% fee is paid in four instalments
(the first instalment in the amount of 10% of
the fee is to be paid within 90 days from the
date of the permit becoming final and binding). The authority can appoint an expert
to evaluate the value of the investment.
The Offshore Wind Act introduces accelerations for other key permit decisions required
for the construction and operation of an
OWF: the environmental decisions, as well as
