Biodiversity under pressure worldwide

Biodiversity: net positive from 2025

Biodiversity is the term used to describe the variety of life on earth. This diversity is of great importance for a resilient nature and a liveable planet. Unfortunately, biodiversity is under great pressure worldwide. Restoration of forests, soils and wetlands and more green spaces in cities are essential to reduce the effects of climate change.

Our goal: net positive as of 2025

To reverse the loss of biodiversity, Eneco wants to be a leader in the energy sector. Our aim is that all our new sustainable sources such as wind farms and solar parks have a net positive effect on biodiversity by 2025 at the latest. This means that we will increase biodiversity more than we burden it. We achieve this by minimising the negative effects on biodiversity when developing and operating new projects and by investing in nature restoration and development.

Actions

In each project, we make an inventory of how we can fit these sustainable sources into the landscape as well as possible and whether we can strengthen nature and biodiversity locally. For example, through oyster projects in offshore wind parks and nature management at solar and wind parks to promote vegetation and insects.

Adverse effects that cannot be prevented at the project level will be compensated by initiating and/or co-financing projects elsewhere to strengthen nature and biodiversity.

Milestones

We want to achieve the following milestones in the next five years:

By 2022, we will have developed a valuation methodology for weighing different effects/benefits on biodiversity. This will support investment decisions and allow us to determine the value of biodiversity loss that can be compensated.
We have also set up peer review of the methodology by experts and nature organisations. At the project level, we work closely with, among others, nature organisations, local residents and (local) governments.
By 2025, investment decisions will include all the measures needed to achieve a net positive effect on biodiversity in new projects.

Current projects biodiversity

Ecocertified Solar Parks

Eneco is a partner in the EcoCertified Solar Parks project, together with 25 other developers of land-based solar parks. Various management strategies such as mowing and grazing are included in the research into ecosystem services, mammals, birds, insects, soil diversity and soil quality together with the design of solar parks. We are also working on an industry-wide certification for solar parks, which, together with management and design, will contribute to an environment with greater biodiversity.

Current projects biodiversity

Development of marine life and oyster beds

In the Borssele III/IV offshore wind farm, oyster cages were installed in October 2020 to prevent erosion. In the spring of 2021, substrate with shell material will be installed in the wind farm for the oyster larvae to nest on. In this way, we hope to kick-start the creation of a flat oyster reef. In cooperation with the Stichting de Rijke Noordzee we are also investigating whether biogenic reefs have developed in the Luchterduinen wind farm. Because no bottom trawling has taken place for five years, it is possible that tubeworm reefs have developed in the wind farm.

Current projects biodiversity

Cultivation of seaweed

In our Belgian offshore wind farm Norther, an experiment has been set up to cultivate seaweed in a wind farm. The anchors have been placed and the cultivation systems will be installed in 2021. Norther is the first wind farm in which a seaweed farming system is being tested. An important step in the effective use of the available space in the busy North Sea. Seaweed can be used, among other things, for vegetable protein production to replace animal proteins whose production involves a relatively large burden on the climate and biodiversity.

Current projects biodiversity

Nature restoration Hoge Veluwe

In the Hoge Veluwe National Park, small-scale experiments with spreading stone flour have been successful. Eneco is making a financial contribution. From now on, stone flour will be spread on a larger scale. A PhD student is studying its effects. The aim is to increase the biodiversity of plants, insects and birds on the heathland.