Wind energy

The need to transition to a lower carbon, naturesafe renewable energy-based economy is more urgent than ever. This report provides an  overview of potential opportunities for biodiversity enhancement for wind and solar developments, bringing together information on good  practice principles, case studies from industry practice, and a summary of existing approaches to biodiversity enhancement.

This technical note focuses on spatial planning for wind and solar development with respect to biodiversity. It is intended primarily for government planners responsible for the longterm sustainable roll out and/or expansion of renewable energy and associated infrastructure (e.g. grid infrastructure and facilities such as ports) at regional, national, and sub-national levels.

The key aim of this guidance is to reframe cumulative impact assessment (CIA) to help support biodiversity conservation and the achievement of global biodiversity goals (alongside climate and other societal development goals). This guidance is focused on biodiversity and wind and solar development, and is aimed primarily at government planners and project developers.

The Synthesis report provides a high-level overview of the main themes addressed in the Guidelines on mitigating biodiversity impacts associated with solar and wind energy development, published in 2021. The Guidelines aim to provide practical support for solar and wind energy devel-opments to effectively manage risks and improve biodiversity and ecosystem service outcomes.

Achieving a climate-resilient future requires rapid, sustained and far-reaching transformations in energy, land-use, infrastructure and industrial systems. Large-scale expansion of renewable energy can play a critical role in meeting the world’s growing energy demands and in the fight against climate change. However, even ‘clean’ energy sources can have significant unintended impacts on the environment.

O Relatório de síntese fornece uma visão geral de alto nível dos principais temas abordados nas Orientações sobre Mitigação dos impactos da biodiversidade associados ao desenvolvimento de energia solar e eólica, publicadas em 2021. As Orientações pretendem prestar apoio prático em empreendimentos de energia solar e eólica para ge-rir eficazmente os riscos e melhorar a biodiversidade e os resultados dos serviços dos ecossistemas.