It is widely understood that Ireland is well positioned to satisfy its own renewable energy needs, but also support a broader export plan of renewable energy to the UK and further into Europe. JBA’s team of in-house experts can support all aspects of renewable energy from advising and supporting local government on capacity based assessments and project deployment, through to supplementing the development team of independent wind energy developers, scoping projects, through environmental and technical services, innovative design considerations, or undertaking specific environmental assessments (such as Peat Slide Risk Assessment, Flood Risk Assessment) for all scale of projects  JBA is working to promote hydroelectric based projects, both run of river and off take based schemes which are being developed by local authorities and community based groups alike. 

 Wind Energy

JBA provides professional consultancy and ecological survey services for the wind energy sector in Ireland and the UK. Our ecological services deliver for projects at feasibility stage pre-planning and also include construction and post-construction monitoring. Our core areas of work for onshore wind developments include survey, impact assessment and mitigation design for water quality and aquatic ecological interests; fish and fisheries; landscape visualization impact assessments and breeding and wintering bird surveys.

• We have focused our specialist ecological services to meet the needs of wind energy projects and project developers for onshore wind energy projects. We work with large scale multi-national wind energy developers and smaller, one-off developers offering a suite of consultancy and survey services to meet project requirements.
• As an independent company JBA has the unique ability to the in-house capabilities to provide professional, ecological surveys across terrestrial, aquatic and marine environments followed up by comprehensive and robust impact assessment reporting.
• JBA has developed an extensive wind energy project portfolio, with proven experience in delivering ecological services including baseline ecological surveys, ecological impact assessment for Environmental Impact Assessments and Appropriate Assessment / Habitat Regulations Assessment reporting.

Our capabilities include co-ordination and delivery of specialist ecological (i.e. bird surveys) and environmental reporting for large-scale wind energy developments to inform impact assessment requirements. We have a positive track record in contributing highest quality ecological information and impact assessment reporting for successful wind energy planning applications.

Hydropower

JBA have been involved in the environmental impact assessment of a wide variety of hydropower projects. Our experience extends from small and medium run of river schemes.

We have prepared Ecological Impact Assessments (EcIA) for numerous proposed schemes, and Article 6 Appropriate Assessments for sites located within designated Natura 2000 conservation sites.

•  Our range of technical services to the hydropower industry include fisheries impact assessments, hydraulic modelling of the weir pool, fishpass design and fisheries mitigation. We have developed a reputation for excellence in fisheries and aquatic ecological consultancy, and we can ensure that you have the required expert fisheries input into the design, construction and operation of hydropower schemes.
• Other services we provide to the hydropower industry include mammal surveys (including bat surveys), habitat mapping assessments and botanical surveys, protected aquatic species assessments and bird surveys.

Typical impact assessment for a hydropower installation would evaluate the sensitivity of the site in terms of species present, habitat quality and type, and the potential impact on migration patterns and spawning grounds. Appropriate mitigation may take the form of improved fish passage and a minimum residual flow. Sites vary significantly in terms of sensitivity and it is not possible to apply a generic abstraction regime to all sites. For more sensitive sites, a fisheries assessment is essential to achieve the right balance and hence efficient use of the resource, while ensuring the maintenance and protection of the ecology of the river.