THINKING NOW AND NEXT: NATURE

The relationship between people and nature is intricate. Solar has the power to create positive outcomes for both.

NextEnergy Capital (NEC) has been at the forefront of the global transition towards clean energy generation since 2007. A prosperous future is achieved through harmony between people, nature, and technology. We are constantly evaluating our relationship with nature to realise our vision of a nature positive, net zero world.

Nature is essential for life on Earth and is intrinsically linked to our well-being and economic stability. Without healthy and biodiverse ecosystems, we face a multitude of adverse events that will significantly impact all of our futures. We rely on healthy ecosystems to ensure the security and prosperity of our food supply. We cannot create a more prosperous future for people without having a safe operating space within which nature can thrive. The global economy is also dependent on a stable climate and ecosystem services: the World bank estimates that nature or “natural capital” generates over $125tn a year of ecosystem services globally (World Bank Group) .

NextEnergy Capital is a leading global investment manager in the solar energy infrastructure sector, including solar PV and battery energy storage systems. It is part of the NextEnergy Group, which is on a mission to generate a more sustainable future by leading the transition to clean energy.

At NEC we believe that by better understanding how we interface with nature, we ensure that nature-related risks and opportunities are effectively integrated into our business model, due diligence systems, governance, and stewardship activities for nature restoration. Our proactive and creative mindsets place us in a strong position to do so. But we cannot do this alone – we recognise the value of collaborative partnerships with people because it is only together that we can effect meaningful and long-lasting change towards a nature positive future.

SOLAR FOR SUSTAINABLE FUTURES

Climate change and nature loss are intrinsically linked. Climate change is the primary driver of nature loss, but climate change cannot be tackled without healthy and biodiverse ecosystems. Nature mitigates climate change by capturing and storing carbon in plants, soil and oceans. Nature also has climate change adaptation properties, making communities more resilient to physical climate risks – such as soil degradation and floods – and aiding recovery from them.

Financed, developed and harnessed in the right way, solar energy is a win-win to mitigate climate change and support nature restoration at scale. At NextEnergy Capital, we fulfil the solar-focused investment mandate of our ESG funds in a way which simultaneously mitigates climate change, protects biodiversity, and minimises nature loss. We are committed to mitigating impacts on nature as much as possible, while seizing opportunities to pave the way towards a nature positive future.

With careful site design and management, solar farms can play a key role in meeting government targets to ensure energy security, whilst guaranteeing food sovereignty. Our solar farms support agricultural activities and regenerative agriculture. For example, in our UK-based funds NextEnergy Solar Fund and NextPower UK, more than 80% of the land our projects occupy is managed under dual-land use regimes, including productive nature-based enterprises like animal grazing.

We continue to learn from the landowners on our solar farms to deliver even greater impacts on the ‘agri’ side of agrivoltaics. Our pursuit for knowledge and ongoing improvement comes from a commitment to create the best possible outcomes for people and nature.

BIG ON BIODIVERSITY

While the land required for a solar site is extensive, the direct footprint of the panels is typically around 3%. This offers many opportunities to improve local biodiversity. We have developed our own programme of Universal Biodiversity Management Plans (UBMPs) to mitigate NEC’s impacts on nature and to restore the biodiversity values on our sites. The Plans go beyond the conservation measures required as part of land planning requirements and include monitoring and measurement as standard, so that their impacts can be assessed.

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In the UK, we have installed 35 beehives, all of which are managed by local beekeepers. We have also sown over 40 acres of wildflowers to boost bee populations. For example, at Hook Valley solar farm, beehives are located on site as part of the Adopt A Hive scheme initiated by NEC to enhance biodiversity by increasing pollination, while boosting community engagement via local beekeeping associations. There are currently 11 beehives at Hook Valley which are managed by beekeepers from the Somerset Beekeepers Association, South East branch. The Somerset Beekeepers Association run learning courses on how to keep bees from this site, driving further impact across the UK beekeepers.

Another example is our work in Poland, where we identified an opportunity to implement BMPs to provide additional nature-positive outcomes that exceed permitting and regulatory requirements across 25 sites. These sites are near designated areas of landscape and nature protection, including ecological corridors. We are developing bespoke management plans for these assets to complement the adjacent protected areas and support ecological resilience for flora and fauna. The biodiversity interventions on these sites will be tailored to enhance landscape connectivity and support site-specific conservation objectives. These plans will also create an opportunity to pilot new biodiversity management techniques in Poland, some of which we have already employed in the UK.

NEC’s proactive environmental management approach means that we are creating a web of biodiversity hubs which scale our nature positive impact beyond the sites where we operate. It also means that once our solar assets reach the end of their useful lives generating clean energy, we will give the land back to the landowners in a better condition than before the solar asset existed.

WHAT’S NEXT ON NATURE

NEC is committed to being at the forefront of research to inform the policymaking necessary to facilitate solar investments which deliver both climate and ecological benefits. Our leadership in this space was recognised last year when we won Environmental Finance’s IMPACT Awards for our active participation in research initiatives.

NEC and NEC’s listed solar fund, NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF), are leading a project to identify nature positive investment opportunities and appropriate metrics to enable their monitoring and reporting, through renewable energy value chains: Finance & Investment in Nature Positive Energy. The project is funded by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council and NESF, and is in partnership with the Universities of Lancaster and York.

It has built a community platform to guide nature positive investment in solar and already published a first piece of research, with more to come over the next two years. Follow the project’s progress on its LinkedIn page .

Our Nature Vice President and Geospatial Manager also co-authored a research paper which was published in the Journal of Applied Ecology . The paper was written to encourage policy decisions which recognise that solar farms can deliver environmental benefits for climate and nature, whilst mitigating climate change and avoiding nature loss.

We are committed to continue to share lessons drawn from our strong track record investing in solar assets and enhancing biodiversity at our sites to promote an impact investment model in which land use needs are not mutually exclusive.

Climate change is a primary driver of nature loss. Mitigating climate change is essential to halting and reversing nature loss. Renewable technologies offer one of the cheapest and quickest avenues to decarbonise the planet, protect ecosystems, and create shared prosperity. At NextEnergy Capital, we are focused on accelerating the deployment of solar energy and battery energy storage to mitigate climate change on a global scale whilst protecting nature and supporting critical ecosystems on a local one.

But we cannot do this alone. We listen to our stakeholders’ ideas and value the local knowledge of our landowners because it holds the key to rethinking how we connect with nature. We recognise the value of collaboration because it means that we can not only lead a sustainable transition to clean energy, but also a just one.

NEC is committed to continue leading the renewables’ industry. We will share lessons from our experience to promote an impact investment model with people and nature at the centre of actions for a net zero future. The prosperity of our communities and the resilience of our ecosystems demand nothing less of us.