Renewable energy and nature recovery need to work together
The transition to renewable energy requires infrastructure at a scale that can have significant interactions with the natural environment.
Solar farms can extend across large areas of land. Wind turbines can create particular considerations for birds and bats. Tidal and coastal energy projects can interact with sensitive habitats, migratory species and designated sites.
These projects therefore require ecological assessment that reflects their scale, technology, location and potential effects.
But scale also creates opportunity.
Renewable energy developments can safeguard substantial areas of land for decades. With the right ecological strategy, that creates the potential not simply to minimise impacts, but to restore habitats, strengthen ecological networks and provide meaningful space for nature recovery alongside energy generation.
Crossman Ecology works collaboratively with renewable energy developers, planners, engineers, landscape architects and other specialists to find practical ways of achieving both.
Talk to us about your renewable energy project
Different technologies create different ecological questions
There is no single approach to ecology for renewable energy.
The potential ecological effects of a solar farm are very different from those associated with an onshore wind project or tidal energy scheme.
Our starting point is therefore to understand the technology, site, scale and project programme before developing an appropriate ecological strategy.
Solar energy
Solar farms can cover substantial areas of land, often incorporating grassland, hedgerows, field boundaries, watercourses and other habitats.
Ecological considerations can include existing habitat value, protected species, Biodiversity Net Gain, landscape design, habitat connectivity and the long-term management of land beneath and around the panels.
The large areas involved also create opportunities.
With appropriate design and management, land within solar developments can potentially support species-rich grassland, strengthened hedgerows, new habitat corridors, wetland features and other habitats alongside electricity generation.
Wind energy
Wind energy creates a different ecological challenge, with birds and bats requiring particular consideration.
Depending on the site and scale of the development, ecological assessment may need to consider species presence, flight activity, migration, important habitats, commuting and foraging routes, displacement and potential collision risk.
The location and operation of turbines can therefore be closely linked to the ecological evidence gathered during the assessment process.
Early ecological involvement is particularly valuable because bird and bat survey programmes may need to collect data across appropriate seasons and, for some projects, over extended periods.
Tidal and coastal energy
Tidal and coastal renewable energy projects can interact with particularly sensitive ecological environments.
Intertidal habitats, estuaries, coastal habitats, migratory birds, fish and other species may all need consideration, while designated sites can add further complexity to the consenting process.
The scale and sensitivity of these projects means ecological assessment needs to be planned carefully and integrated with the wider environmental and consenting strategy from an early stage.
Scale changes the ecological conversation
Large renewable energy projects can require a very different level of ecological evidence from smaller developments.
Baseline data may need to be gathered across large areas and over appropriate survey seasons. Multiple ecological receptors may need to be considered together, and the significance of potential effects needs to be assessed at an appropriate geographic scale.
Depending on the project, this could include:
- Habitat surveys and ecological baseline assessment
- Protected species surveys
- Bird surveys
- Bat activity surveys
- Assessment of designated sites
- Ecological Impact Assessment
- Biodiversity Net Gain
- Habitats Regulations considerations where relevant
- Mitigation and enhancement strategies
- Construction-phase ecological support
- Long-term habitat management and monitoring
The objective is not simply to collect large quantities of ecological data.
It is to collect the right evidence, at the right time, and use it to make better project decisions.
Birds, bats and wind energy
Wind energy can require particularly careful consideration of birds and bats because the ecological effects are not limited to the land occupied by the turbine itself.
Bird assessment may need to consider how species use the wider landscape, including feeding areas, breeding locations, migration routes and regular flight paths. Depending on the project, potential effects can include habitat loss, disturbance, displacement and collision risk.
Bats may also require detailed consideration. Survey work can help establish which species are present, how activity varies across the site and how bats are using features such as hedgerows, woodland edges and other commuting or foraging habitat.
Good ecological evidence can then inform decisions about turbine locations, site layout and appropriate mitigation or operational measures.
Because some of this evidence is inherently seasonal, survey strategy and programme need to be considered early. Discovering that additional seasonal data is required late in the consenting process can have significant programme implications.
Find out more about Bat Surveys
Start with ecological feasibility, not just ecological surveys
Some of the most valuable ecological work happens before a renewable energy layout has been fixed.
Early ecological assessment can help identify areas of higher and lower ecological sensitivity, important habitats, designated sites, protected species considerations and potential survey requirements.
That information can help the wider project team consider questions such as:
- Are there ecological issues that could materially affect the viability of this site?
- Which parts of the site are most ecologically sensitive?
- Where might infrastructure be located with lower ecological impact?
- What survey work will be required and how could that affect the project programme?
- Are there important habitat connections that should be retained?
- What are the likely Biodiversity Net Gain implications?
- Where could habitat creation or restoration deliver the greatest ecological value?
Answering these questions while the project still has flexibility can reduce risk and create more opportunities than trying to resolve ecological issues after the layout has been established.
Find out more about Ecological Appraisal
Renewable energy can create space for nature recovery
One of the most exciting ecological opportunities associated with renewable energy is the potential for land to be managed differently over the long term.
Many renewable energy developments can safeguard substantial areas of land from more intensive forms of development for decades.
That does not automatically make them good for biodiversity. The opportunity needs to be designed and managed deliberately.
Where site conditions allow, renewable energy developments can provide opportunities to:
- Create and restore species-rich grassland
- Strengthen and expand hedgerow networks
- Create new woodland, scrub or edge habitats where appropriate
- Restore ponds and create wetland habitats
- Improve ecological connectivity across the landscape
- Create habitat for birds, bats, invertebrates and other wildlife
- Reduce the intensity of land management
- Provide buffers around existing valuable habitats
- Deliver Biodiversity Net Gain
- Support wider landscape-scale nature recovery
For larger projects, the cumulative opportunity can be substantial.
A renewable energy site should not simply minimise ecological harm. At its best, it can generate energy and support nature recovery from the same land.
Making land work harder
Renewable energy sites are often multifunctional landscapes.
The same land may need to accommodate energy generation, access, drainage, landscape mitigation, Biodiversity Net Gain, habitat creation and long-term management.
In some circumstances, agricultural uses such as grazing may also continue alongside energy generation and habitat management.
Rather than considering each requirement separately, we work with the wider project team to explore where different objectives can complement one another.
A drainage feature may also provide wetland habitat. Landscape screening can contribute to habitat connectivity. Grassland beneath and around solar panels can potentially provide ecological value. Retained hedgerows can provide both visual screening and important wildlife corridors.
Thoughtful ecological design can help the same land perform several functions.
Biodiversity Net Gain at scale
Large renewable energy developments can create both challenges and opportunities for Biodiversity Net Gain.
The size of the site means habitat baseline calculations can be substantial, but it can also provide greater flexibility to consider habitat creation and enhancement strategically across the development.
We work with project teams to understand the existing biodiversity value of the site, identify the habitats that matter most and explore practical ways of delivering the required biodiversity outcome.
Importantly, habitat proposals need to be realistic.
Creating a habitat on a plan or within a biodiversity metric is not the same as successfully establishing and maintaining it on the ground.
We therefore consider factors such as land use, soils, drainage, shading, access, management requirements and the long-term operation of the energy development when developing habitat proposals.
Find out more about Biodiversity Net Gain
Ecology needs to work with the project programme
Renewable energy projects can have long development and consenting programmes involving multiple technical disciplines.
Ecological surveys need to fit intelligently within that programme.
Some ecological data can be gathered relatively quickly. Other surveys are seasonally constrained or may need information from more than one period of the year.
Our role is to identify those requirements early, explain their programme implications clearly and develop a proportionate survey strategy.
This allows ecology to be planned alongside land agreements, grid connections, design development, planning or consenting, environmental assessment and construction rather than becoming an unexpected constraint later.
Ecological Impact Assessment for renewable energy
Larger or more ecologically sensitive renewable energy developments may require a detailed Ecological Impact Assessment.
An EcIA considers the ecological features that could be affected, evaluates the significance of potential effects and identifies appropriate avoidance, mitigation, compensation and enhancement measures.
For complex projects, the value lies not simply in producing the final assessment.
The ecological evidence should be informing the project as it develops: helping the design team identify risks, compare options and reduce significant effects wherever reasonably possible.
Find out more about Ecological Impact Assessment
From feasibility to operation
Site selection and feasibility
We identify potential ecological risks and opportunities while there is still flexibility to influence site selection and project design.
Survey strategy
We establish what ecological evidence is genuinely required and programme seasonal surveys around the wider development timetable.
Concept design
We work with the project team to identify ecologically sensitive areas and explore how infrastructure, access and habitat can be arranged intelligently.
Ecological assessment
We assess habitats, protected species and other ecological receptors and, where required, prepare detailed Ecological Impact Assessments.
Biodiversity and habitat strategy
We identify opportunities for habitat retention, restoration and creation and help integrate Biodiversity Net Gain and wider nature recovery into the project.
Planning and consenting
We provide robust ecological evidence and can help respond to ecological matters raised by Local Planning Authorities, statutory consultees and other ecological advisers.
Construction
Where required, we provide ecological supervision, mitigation, protected species licensing and practical support during construction.
Long-term management and monitoring
We can help develop realistic habitat management and ecological monitoring strategies for the operational life of the development.
Ecology services for renewable energy projects
Ecological Appraisal
Early assessment of habitats, ecological constraints and opportunities to inform feasibility, site selection and design.
Ecological Impact Assessment
Detailed assessment of ecological effects for larger or more sensitive renewable energy developments.
Biodiversity Net Gain
Habitat assessment, biodiversity metric calculations and strategic advice on habitat retention, enhancement, creation and long-term management.
Bat Surveys
Bat activity and other appropriate surveys to understand how bats use a site and inform the assessment and design of renewable energy projects.
Protected Species Surveys
Survey and mitigation advice for protected species that may be affected by infrastructure, access, construction or habitat change.
Protected Species Licensing
Licensing and mitigation support where renewable energy infrastructure or construction affects protected species.
Why renewable energy teams work with Crossman Ecology
We think at project scale
A large renewable energy project needs more than a collection of individual species surveys. We consider how habitats, species, designated sites, project design, consenting and long-term land management fit together.
We plan ahead
Ecological seasonality can have significant programme implications. We aim to identify survey requirements early and provide clear advice about when information will be available.
We look for solutions
Identifying an ecological constraint is only part of our role. We work with the project team to explore practical ways to avoid, reduce or mitigate effects.
We see the opportunity as well as the constraint
Renewable energy projects can create significant opportunities for habitat restoration and nature recovery. We look for ways to make those opportunities meaningful and deliverable.
We collaborate
Successful renewable energy projects require multiple disciplines to work together. We work constructively with developers, planners, engineers, landscape architects and other environmental specialists rather than treating ecology in isolation.
The Crossman Ecology Three-Part Client Guarantee
Large projects need certainty around the consultants supporting them.
That’s why our work is backed by the Crossman Ecology Three-Part Client Guarantee, providing greater certainty around planning outcome, pricing and timescales.
Discover our Three-Part Client Guarantee
Frequently asked questions about ecology and renewable energy
When should ecology be considered on a renewable energy project?
As early as possible, ideally during site feasibility and before the project layout becomes fixed.
Early assessment can identify ecological sensitivities, seasonal survey requirements and potential consenting risks while the project still has flexibility to respond.
For larger projects, early planning is particularly important because some ecological surveys may need to collect information over extended periods.
What ecological surveys are needed for a solar farm?
The surveys required depend on the habitats present, the location and scale of the solar development and the species that could be affected.
An initial ecological appraisal can identify important habitats and potential protected species constraints and determine what further survey work is appropriate.
Further assessment could potentially include species-specific surveys, Biodiversity Net Gain assessment and Ecological Impact Assessment depending on the project.
Why are birds important when assessing wind farms?
Wind turbines can potentially affect birds through habitat change, disturbance, displacement and collision risk.
The significance of these effects depends on which species are present, how they use the site and surrounding landscape, the location and design of the turbines and the conservation importance of the populations involved.
Appropriate bird survey and assessment can therefore be an important part of the evidence supporting a wind energy proposal.
Why do wind farms need bat surveys?
Bats can be affected by wind turbines, so understanding how they use a proposed site can be important when assessing potential effects.
Survey work may consider the species present, levels and patterns of activity and the importance of habitats such as hedgerows, woodland edges and other commuting or foraging features.
The results can help inform turbine siting, project design and any mitigation or operational measures that may be appropriate.
Can solar farms be good for biodiversity?
They can create significant opportunities for biodiversity, but positive outcomes are not automatic.
Solar developments can provide substantial areas where habitat can potentially be created, restored or managed differently over the operational life of the project.
The ecological outcome depends on the starting condition of the site, the habitats created, how they are designed and how successfully they are managed over time.
Can renewable energy projects contribute to nature recovery?
Yes. Their scale and long operational periods can create opportunities to secure and manage substantial areas for wildlife.
This might include grassland restoration, stronger hedgerow networks, wetlands, habitat buffers and improved ecological connectivity.
The greatest benefits are likely to come where habitat creation is planned strategically and connected to the wider landscape rather than being considered as isolated areas within the development.
Do renewable energy projects need Biodiversity Net Gain?
Whether mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain applies depends on the type, location and consenting route of the individual project and the applicable regulations.
Where BNG does apply, the scale of renewable energy sites can create both significant calculations and significant opportunities for habitat enhancement.
The requirements should therefore be established for the individual project rather than assumed.
Can land beneath solar panels contribute to biodiversity?
Potentially, yes, although the ecological value that can realistically be achieved will depend on site conditions, panel layout, shading, soils, management and the habitat being targeted.
Habitat proposals should therefore be based on what can genuinely be established and maintained rather than simply what produces the most favourable result within a biodiversity calculation.
How can ecological surveys affect a renewable energy project programme?
Some ecological surveys are seasonal, meaning reliable data can only be collected during appropriate periods of the year.
For larger or more sensitive projects, evidence may also need to be collected across longer periods.
Identifying these requirements late can affect the consenting programme, which is why an early ecological survey strategy is valuable.
What happens to the habitats created on a renewable energy site in the long term?
Habitat creation needs appropriate long-term management if it is to deliver its intended ecological outcome.
Management may include activities such as grassland cutting or grazing, hedgerow management, scrub control, wetland management and monitoring.
We believe habitat strategies should be realistic about how the site will actually be operated. A simpler habitat that can be managed successfully for decades can be more valuable than an ambitious proposal that is unlikely to achieve its target condition.
Planning a renewable energy project?
Bring ecology into the conversation early.
Whether you’re assessing a potential site, planning ecological surveys, developing a layout or considering the long-term biodiversity opportunity, we can help establish the ecological risks, requirements and opportunities.
Renewable energy and nature recovery are both essential. Good ecological strategy can help create space for both.