Blow to sea power plan.Byline: Claire Tolley MEDIEVAL maritime law maritime law, system of law concerning navigation and overseas commerce. Because ships sail from nation to nation over seas no nation owns, nations need to seek agreement over customs related to shipping. could delay the creation of an offshore windfarm in Liverpool Bay Liverpool Bay is a bay of the Irish Sea between north-east Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside to the east of the Irish Sea. The bay is a classic example of a region of freshwater influence. The rivers Alt, Conwy, Dee and Mersey drain into the bay. by up to a year. Work on the pounds 90m turbine turbine, rotary engine that uses a continuous stream of fluid (gas or liquid) to turn a shaft that can drive machinery. A water, or hydraulic, turbine is used to drive electric generators in hydroelectric power stations. project, one of 18 sites proposed nationwide, was due to start early in 2004. But Government lawyers are now trying to establish whether the construction of off-shore windfarms infringes ship navigation rights. If so, lawyers are warning developers may have to apply for a special order under the Transport and Works Act to circumvent cir·cum·vent tr.v. cir·cum·vent·ed, cir·cum·vent·ing, cir·cum·vents 1. To surround (an enemy, for example); enclose or entrap. 2. To go around; bypass: circumvented the city. them. The order could also be needed to protect developers from legal claims if vessels crash into the turbines. But the orders, issued by the Secretary of State, can take up to 15 months to obtain and cost up to pounds 3m. SeaScape Energy, which is behind the project in Liverpool Bay, says obtaining a Transport and Works Act Order could delay it by up to a year. Colin Palmer, technical director of SeaScape Energy, stressed navigation rights would not block the 30 turbines planned for Burbo Bank off the Crosby coastline. But he said: "We are awaiting legal advice because there are some rather subtle arguments that suggest the type of permission we have applied for may not give total protection if there's an accident from a boat going into a turbine. "In the end, the navigation rights won't affect the project because, if necessary, we will obtain a Transport and Works Act order. Under common law navigation rights, which have developed since the Magna Carta Magna Carta or Magna Charta [Lat., = great charter], the most famous document of British constitutional history, issued by King John at Runnymede under compulsion from the barons and the church in June, 1215. , all shipping traffic has the right to negotiate the sea within 12 miles of the coastline. The turbines at Burbo Bank would be only four miles off the coast. Proposals for two other windfarms off the North Wales North Wales (known in some archaic texts as Northgalis) is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales, bordered to the south by Mid Wales and to the east by England. coast will also be affected if lawyers decide windfarms encroach encroach v. to build a structure which is in whole or in part across the property line of another's real property. This may occur due to incorrect surveys, guesses or miscalculations by builders and/or owners when erecting a building. on those navigation rights. The Government has earmarked wind power as the cornerstone cornerstone Ceremonial building block, dated or otherwise inscribed, usually placed in an outer wall of a building to commemorate its dedication. Often the stone is hollowed out to contain newspapers, photographs, or other documents reflecting current customs, with a view to of its drive to generate 10pc of energy through renewable sources by 2010. The potential delay caused by navigation rights is only the latest of a series of challenges to the proposed windfarms. The Ministry of Defence blocked plans for several proposed sites last July, including one off the coast of Southport, over concerns about their impact on radar and low-flying aircraft. Developers must also convince the Government the sites will not harm wildlife or the environment. SeaScape Energy has approached the North West Development Agency to ensure local companies become involved in the windfarm's construction. The turbines could provide enough energy to power 70,000 homes in the North West. |
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