ABP Marine Environmental Research Ltd, (ABPmer) and Risk & Policy Analysts (RPA) werecommissioned by The Crown Estate (TCE) in June 2011 to develop a common approach and
associated methodologies that could be used to assess the potential socio-economic impacts (both positive and negative) of Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters (PFOW) wave and tidal developments.
This report identifies the potential positive and negative socio-economic impacts from the PFOW projects and presents a common approach with associated methodologies that can be adopted by developers in carrying out the socio-economic aspects of their Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). This includes assessments both in relation to individual projects and in terms of cumulative effects associated with other projects.
Existing data sources are identified, and a baseline provided. A gap analysis, which highlights where developers might need to collect additional data, is also presented. It is recommended that the methodologies for assessing GVA and employment benefits associated with supply chains are further developed and tested prior to application. It may also be appropriate to pre-complete some of the cumulative assessments to assist developers with their project specific assessments,