An eight-step framework to help renewable companies measure action towards becoming ‘net-positive for biodiversity’ on land and sea is open for feedback from Orsted, the largest wind farm developer in the world.
The short document aims to accelerate international industry agreement on how renewables should approach their biodiversity impacts, said Denmark-based Orsted.
“We need an internationally recognised measurement framework that can be applied across both onshore and offshore renewable energy assets,” said Emma Hospes, head of the biodiversity programme at Orsted.
“This is complex and requires collaboration between developers, but the release of our working framework for discussion and feedback from all interested stakeholders is a step towards measurable action for nature, both terrestrial and marine.”
Orsted’s document aims to be broad enough to cater for a wide range of projects, while flexible enough to account for location-specific biodiversity features.
The approach, developed in collaboration with The Biodiversity Consultancy, aligns with the work of Science Based Targets for Nature, the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, and World Economic Forum, the wind farm developer said.
The term ‘nature positive’ has yet to be defined though initiatives have ramped up work to clarify how it could be achieved over the last year.
The framework follows Orsted calling on all renewable energy developers to join its commitment to set net-positive biodiversity targets when developing projects last September, though it remains unclear how this could be measured.
EIGHT STEPS
Orsted set out eight steps towards creating a new global standard for assessing habitats and species, according to their threat status and potential to be affected by infrastructure development:
- Early risk screening using datasets such as the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool
- Identify priority biodiversity features
- Scope additional monitoring needs
- Establish baselines for priority biodiversity features
- Model impacts and interventions
- Determine net-positive actions
- Implement and monitor
- Report and disclose
Net-positive actions should be based on feasibility, evidence for success, cost-effectiveness, and stakeholder alignment, it said. The framework did not mention offsets or biodiversity credits.
ACCOUNTABILITY AND FINANCE
By measuring impact on biodiversity, the company will be able to hold itself accountable for its biodiversity impacts, it said in the framework.
The framework means “we’ll not only continue to avoid, minimise, and compensate for any impact on nature during the lifetime of our projects – we’ll also actively help restore and enhance ecosystems as we go”.
The document should also help Orsted refine its investment needs, it said. “This will prove critical in securing additional financing to scale up this work, for example through blue bond issuances tied to net-positive impact projects.”
Orsted has previously said it is investing in pilot projects to test measures to deliver net-positive biodiversity impact at scale.
In the US, the company is restoring tallgrass prairies in Kansas, while in Ireland, it is testing new technology for birdlife monitoring. The company has some projects restoring seascapes in the Humber Estuary in the UK, and it is testing the potential of seaweed farming to boost biodiversity.
Orsted is pushing for non-price criteria like biodiversity to become an increasingly important part of the application process for renewable initiatives, an executive told Carbon Pulse last year.
Renewables companies have increasingly confronted the adverse impacts their developments have on biodiversity this year:
- May: Study announced on the impact of solar farms on nature using artificial intelligence technology, alongside acoustic monitoring, led by Low Carbon in partnership with Lancaster University
- May: Non-profit consultancy Community Power Agency released a set of strategies to achieving net gain in biodiversity within new solar farms
- May: Queequeg Renewables said it was collaborating with Biodiverse Consulting on ensuring five solar projects meet their biodiversity net gain requirements
- April: Australian state of Victoria committed $2.5 million to develop tools to help renewable energy project developers avoid harming local biodiversity
- February: European Energy and the Danish Society for Nature Conservation committed to building renewable energy plants without harming nature
- February: Photovolt Development Partners committed to adopting measures to enhancing biodiversity, following mounting criticism over its plans to build a facility in the UK
By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com
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