The evolving approach to the assessment of the local socio-economic impacts of major energy projects – with particular reference to UK new nuclear and offshore wind projects

Socio-economic impacts are the ‘people impacts’ of development actions/projects. Socio-economic impact assessment (SEIA) seeks to identify and assess such impacts in project planning and decision-making. The focus of this research is primarily on the impacts of building major energy projects in the UK. A secure energy supply is vital for the functioning of society, yet the construction and operation of new energy facilities can be controversial, especially for the host locality. The aim of the research programme has been to research, document, analyse and advance the assessment of the socio-economic impacts of large and very large UK energy projects, especially on their local and regional host areas. The more detailed objectives were to advance the profile of socio-economic impacts and their assessment in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process; develop SEIA process and methodology; examine the roles and changing relationships among stakeholders in the process; and particularly to assess the effectiveness of SEIA, learning from experience and follow-up (monitoring and auditing of impacts). Fourteen publications are submitted as part of the PhD by Published Work, including four book chapters especially on SEIA evolution, methodology and follow-up, and ten journal articles covering the scope of socio-economic impacts, SEIA methods, major project monitoring and auditing studies and community benefits agreements. The report begins with an introduction including the origins of the research, followed by a section setting out the researcher’s overall research programme, objectives and methodologies employed. The core sections of the report then examine in greater depth the main themes of the research and the original contributions to knowledge represented by the works, especially relating to the case studies of UK new nuclear power stations and offshore wind farms. They review the researcher’s work on advancing the socio-economic impacts of major energy projects and their assessment in the context of EIA and contributions to the evolving SEIA process and methodologies. The case studies examine key participants involved in the process and the role of community benefits agreements, and especially the importance of follow–up (monitoring and auditing) and adaptive assessment and management. The final section draws some overall conclusions on the development of SEIA in light of the documented research, summarises the original contributions to knowledge, influence on policy and practice, and proposes some future research directions for this field. Contributions include documentation of the need for SEIA, developments in process and methods, coverage of the emerging community benefits approaches, and especially of the importance of follow-up and learning from experience. Examples of future research directions include covering impacts over the full life cycle (including decommissioning), assessing impacts of emerging energy technologies such as small modular reactors and floating wind farms, cumulative socio-economic impacts assessment, comparative community benefits approaches, and approaches to the more effective resourcing of the essential impact monitoring and auditing activities.