Global marine renewables leader Ørsted has set an ambition to deliver net-positive biodiversity impacts from all new renewable energy projects it commissions from 2030 at the latest.  “The accelerated global build-out of renewable energy which is needed to decarbonise global energy systems and stop global warming at 1.5°C must take place in balance with nature.”

Ørsted works to avoid, mitigate, and address the potential biodiversity impact of its projects, with one of the renewable energy industry’s most experienced in-house teams of environment specialists.  It has delivered initiatives such as artificial reefs to support Atlantic cod at Borssele in the Netherlands; monitoring of crustacean habitats at Westermost Rough in the UK; and a programme to protect and conserve the North Atlantic right whale.

When developing new projects, Ørsted now undertakes to systematically implement initiatives that ensure an overall net-positive contribution to natural ecosystems, habitats, and species in and around the company’s new renewable energy projects in offshore wind, onshore wind, solar PV and energy storage, and renewable hydrogen. Ørsted will also seek to identify initiatives that can have a positive impact on biodiversity before 2030. Read more here.

The Government’s Net Zero ambition signals a massive expansion in the scale and extent of offshore wind farms but, says the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO), it also supercharges concerns over the spatial squeeze now being experienced by fishers who face losing access to their fishing grounds. NFFO Assistant Chief Executive, Dale Rodmell, who recently presented the issues to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fisheries, makes the case for the need for a planning system that can deliver on co-existence

For more on marine renewables, there’s a busy newsletter this week from Marine Energy Wales plus MEW’s 2021 update for the fishing sector, summarising current and forthcoming marine renewable energy activities from MEW members.