Protecting biodiversity while deploying more infrastructure to decarbonise electricity production is possible and desirable, according to a new guidebook released on Thursday.
Power association Eurelectric’s plan responds to concerns arising around the environmental impacts of doubling the EU renewables capacity by 2030, as required by the bloc’s ‘Fit for 55’ package of climate legislation.
Addressing these concerns, Eurelectric argues that high energy ambitions and nature restoration are parts of the same strategy to fight climate change and make the EU the first net-zero continent by mid century.
The first can even benefit the second, said another study by WWF, with renewable-led decarbonisation lowering risks to biodiversity by 75% and reverting 50% of land loss induced by climate change.
The EU committed to protect 30% of land and oceans by 2030, as part of the UN Global Biodiversity Framework signed at COP15 two years ago.
Eurelectric’s guide presents 12 principles to follow to make sure biodiversity and energy goals go hand in hand, including: adherence to the mitigation hierarchy, ruling out offsets to mitigate negative impacts, and promoting transparency.
“Adopting ecological measures that can accelerate energy infrastructure deployment to meet our climate targets is a win-win for the planet,” said Eurelectric’s secretary general, Kristian Ruby.
The benefits transcend nature protection, the study suggests, improving developers’s reputation and social acceptance for their installations, thereby avoiding delays due to public concerns.
The cost of biodiversity protection, however, remains a challenge.
Over eight out of 10 developers surveyed in the study reported that integrating biodiversity is costly, ranging from €25,000 to €280 million per project.
Scientific data is also limited and there is no common guidance nor agreed metric to measure nature protection, which can discourage nature-inclusive measures.
Finally, Eurelectric calls on the EU to reward biodiversity-mindful projects by increasing funds under its Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) facilitating the use of ecological non-price criteria in renewable energy auctions, and providing fiscal incentives for PPA buyers with a biodiversity strategy.
“An EU biodiversity framework should also harmonise the many metrics available today and provide guidance for biodiversity integration across economic sectors,” the association said.
WILD POLITICS
The guidebook comes just days before a meeting of EU environment ministers on Monday, where a long-discussed bill to restore EU habitats will come back on the table.
The Nature Restoration Law is part of the EU’s 2030 strategy for biodiversity, which included a law to reduce pesticides that was eventually withdrawn due to farmers’ concerns.
A battle to rollback EU green policies has been raging for more than a year, fuelled by farmers’ protests against EU bureaucracy and broader discontent linked to rising energy prices.
The European Commission responded by watering down some of its green agricultural reforms, which Green MEP Jutta Paulus said was a mistake.
“Our challenge, or our task, is to find ways to make agriculture and photovoltaic work together,” Paulus said at the Eurelectric event, referring to good practice examples.
Eurelectric’s suggestions follows a recent revision of EU electricity market rules, which faced criticism from environmentalists over fast-track permitting for renewable energy projects that allowed promoters to bypass nature protection laws.
PORTUGUESE CASE
Meanwhile, some project promoters are trying to show the way forward.
Days ago, the largest wind farm developer in the world, Orsted, opened for feedback an eight-step framework to help renewable companies measure action towards becoming ‘net-positive for biodiversity’ on land and sea.
Likewise, the Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (APREN) recently joined forces with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Portugal’s Laboratorio Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG) for a similar project.
Their goal is to identify optimal areas for solar and wind energy projects, while respecting ecological and cultural values of local communities. The resulting map will then help Portugal’s policymakers, public bodies, investors, and developers identify locations for renewable energy deployment.
These “renewable acceleration areas” will be selected based on environmental suitability, technical feasibility, and alignment with Portugal’s ambitious commitment to a 90% share of renewable electricity by 2030.
The project started in February and will close in early 2026.
“Portugal has an opportunity to set the pace for renewable acceleration in Europe, but they must go smart to go fast,” commented Elif Gündüzyeli, renewable energy programme director for Europe at TNC.
Teresa Ponce de Leao, president of LNEG’s governing board also noted that the country “has excellent conditions for renewable energy production, but also for eco-tourism, agriculture, and other economic development possibilities”.
“These are possible since Portugal also has valuable ecosystem services that need to be preserved,” she added.
By Emanuela Barbiroglio – emanuela@carbon-pulse.com
