S.L. 545.43 Art. 39Permit-granting procedure outside renewables acceleration areas.  S.L. 549.46. S.L. 549.44.      S.L. 549.44. S.L. 549.42.    S.L. 549.44. S.L. 549.42.

(1) The permit-granting procedure referred to in regulation 37(1) shall not exceed two (2) years for renewable energy projects located outside renewables acceleration areas provided that in the case of offshore renewable energy projects, the permit-granting procedure shall not exceed three (3) years.

(2) The time frames referred to in sub-regulation (1) shall be subject to the project developer complying with reasonable time frames established by each relevant authority for the submission of any required documentation, provided that, where duly justified on the grounds of extraordinary circumstances, including the extension of periods required for assessments in accordance with the applicable Union environmental legislation, any of those periods may be extended by up to a maximum of six (6) months, and in such case the project developer shall be clearly informed of the extraordinary circumstances that justify such an extension.

(3) Where an environmental assessment is required pursuant to the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations or the Flora,

Fauna and Natural Habitats Protection Regulations as part of the permit-granting procedure for renewable energy projects located outside renewables acceleration areas, it shall be carried out in a single procedure that combines all relevant assessments for the given renewable energy project, and the relevant authority, taking into account the information provided by the project developer, shall issue an opinion on the scope and level of detail of the information to be included by the project developer in the environmental impact assessment report, of which the scope shall not be subsequently extended.

(4) Where a renewable energy project has adopted the necessary mitigation measures, any killing or disturbance of the species protected in accordance with regulations 24 and 25 of the

Flora, Fauna and Natural Habitats Protection Regulations and regulation 4(1) of the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations shall not be considered to be deliberate.

(5) Where novel mitigation measures to prevent, to the extent possible, the killing or disturbance of species protected under the Flora, Fauna and Natural Habitats Protection Regulations and the

Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations, or to prevent any other environmental impact, have not been widely tested as regards their effectiveness, their use may be allowed for one (1) or several pilot projects for a limited time period, provided that the effectiveness of such mitigation measures is closely monitored and appropriate steps are immediately taken if they do not prove to be effective.

(6) The permit-granting procedure shall not exceed twelve

(12) months for land-based, or two (2) years for offshore projects of the following types when located outside renewables acceleration areas:

(a) the repowering of renewable energy power plants;

(b) new installations with an electrical capacity of less than one hundred and fifty kilowatts (150 kW);

(c) co-located energy storage;

(d) the connection to the grid for the projects described in paragraphs (a) to (c).

(7) The time frames established in sub-regulation (6) shall include any environmental assessments which may be required by the relevant law and either one may, where duly justified on the grounds of extraordinary circumstances, be extended by up to a maximum of (3) three months subject to the project developer being clearly informed of SOURCES

the extraordinary circumstances that justify such an extension.