Eia Approved

For the Sandbank offshore wind farm in the German North Sea, the European Investment Bank’s project documentation notes that the scheme fell under Annex II of the EU Environmental Impact Assessment Directive and, under German law, was therefore subject to a mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment. This assessment was carried out and subjected to several rounds of public consultation and review by independent experts. On the basis of this process, the competent national authority approved the EIA and issued a general, conditional construction and operating permit for the wind farm. The decision concludes that, provided appropriate precautionary and mitigation measures are implemented, the project’s impacts on fauna and flora, including birds, marine mammals, benthic communities and invertebrates, are acceptable.