Mitigating biodiversity impacts associated with solar and wind energy development with IUCN

IUCN vision statement:

IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) is a membership Union bringing together 1,400 Member organisations and 17,000 experts across 160 countries. Together, they are the global authority on the status of the natural world including biodiversity and the measures needed to safeguard it. They work to advance sustainable development and create a just world that values and conserves biodiversity and nature.    

IUCN recognised the need to support a global transition to renewable energy which mitigated impacts to biodiversity whilst contributing to its conservation. This sustainable approach to transition is essential to enable the delivery of both global climate and nature goals. However, this can only happen with the support of all relevant decision-makers at every stage of planning and implementation.   

 

Project purpose – managing renewables energy development to avoid biodiversity loss 

Renewable energy is key for the transition to a low-carbon future, but even clean energy sources can have significant unintended impacts on the environment and biodiversity if not managed and mitigated appropriately.   

The project's purpose was to produce a guideline for managing renewable energy development to effectively manage any adverse effects on ecosystems and species. 

 

The challenge – practical and actionable guidelines that supports all solar and wind energy developments 

The specific challenge faced by IUCN was the need to produce guidelines to provide practical support for solar and wind energy developments to effectively manage their risks and improve overall outcomes related to biodiversity and ecosystem services. These guidelines needed to be informed by the best available science and practicable to implement, which required wide input from both NGOs and industry partners.

 

Our approach - a collaborative effort to align good practice across project cycle

The Biodiversity Consultancy collaborated with IUCN and project partners to create a single set of guidelines to help wind and solar developers to mitigate potential biodiversity impacts and lead the way to a climate-resilient and nature positive future.  

The development of the guidelines over a two-year period combined a comprehensive literature review, incorporation of The Biodiversity Consultancy’s experience in good international industry practice and active consultation and input from all project partner organisations. The guidelines are structured to introduce the concept of the mitigation hierarchy and discuss potential impacts and mitigation approaches for each technology in turn (solar, onshore wind and offshore wind). The publication concludes with a section on assessment, monitoring and evaluation, as well as outlining the process for aligning with good practice across the project cycle.  

These guidelines bring together leading practice and the latest case studies from across the industry and are the result of international collaborative effort with partners from the energy sector and global conservation NGOs. 

 

Outcomes – a constructive set of guidelines and frameworks to support solar and wind energy development risk management 

The Guidelines on ‘mitigating biodiversity impacts associated with solar and wind energy development’ were produced with the aim to provide practical support for solar and wind energy developments to effectively manage risks and improve biodiversity and ecosystem service outcomes. They are industry-focused and can be applied across the whole project development life cycle, from early planning through to decommissioning and repowering, using the mitigation hierarchy as a clear framework for planning and implementation. 

These guidelines were launched in 2021 as part of a first phase of collaboration between IUCN, The Biodiversity Consultancy, leading conservation NGOs BirdLife International, Wildlife Conservation Society, Fauna & Flora and partners from the energy sector including Électricité de France (EDF), Energias de Portugal (EDP) and Shell.  

The partnership continued with a second phase of work between 2022 and 2024 involving the original partners, as well as Eni, Equinor and TotalEnergies. This work explored how to further minimise impacts on biodiversity through the responsible sourcing of raw materials used in renewable energy developments but also providing guidance on managing cumulative impacts, spatial planning and opportunities for enhancing nature at solar and wind farms.  

The full report from Phase 1 is available in English and Greek, with a ‘synthesis and key messages’ report available in additional languages including Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Chinese.  

Additional resources were produced including ‘industry guidance for early screening of biodiversity risk for solar, onshore wind and offshore wind energy development 

A video promoting the Guidelines has been produced here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMlDMBnRigM