Biodiversity

The development and construction of utility-scale renewable energy plants may include environmental impacts such as the degradation of habitats, reduction of resource availability and transformation of habitats, which can affect biodiversity. Scatec works to implement mitigation measures to minimise impacts and restore biodiversity.

Management approach

Scatec acknowledges that there is an ongoing global biodiversity crisis and that all businesses must work to minimise their negative biodiversity impacts and maximise positive impacts. Utility scale renewable power plants are essential to address the climate crisis but do require large amounts of land to capture energy from the sun, wind and rain which impacts local nature. Scatec owns and operates a variety of renewable energy technologies that have differing potential impacts.

Scatec works to identify relevant impacts, avoid sensitive areas where possible and implement mitigation measures to minimise impacts and restore biodiversity. We follow the precautionary principle and carry out studies such as Environmental and Social Due Diligence (ESDD) Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA) for all projects, which may include assessing direct, indirect and cumulative impacts where relevant, to identify potential risks and mitigation measures before development.

We will not develop projects in areas where a threat to critically endangered species cannot be mitigated. We follow the mitigation hierarchy for negative impacts; avoid, minimise, restore and finally offset residual negative impacts. We aim to achieve net gain for critical habitat and no net loss in natural habitat in all our projects. Where we are not able to sufficiently mitigate impacts, we ensure additional biodiversity offsets of high quality to compensate for potential biodiversity losses.

We aim to avoid developments in forests and will not develop projects that negatively impact Intact Forest Landscapes. If we develop projects in areas where there are direct impacts upon forests, we aim to restore or plant an appropriate replacement forest equivalent to the area of forest impacted. We restore sites at end of life to ensure a comparable or better ecosystem state than before development.

During project development we use third party specialists to assess and mitigate biodiversity risk while adhering to strict requirements of the IFC Performance Standards and the Equator Principles. We review findings and incorporate mitigation measures into project environmental and social management plans (ESAP).

For all our projects, land transformation is minimised and land use optimised to lessen impact on fauna and flora. Relevant measures during construction and operations include, among other things, fencing off storage areas, keeping lighting at a minimum and allowing the free movement (migration) of small animals by maintaining migration corridors underneath perimeter fences.

GRI disclosures

GRI 304-1
GRI 304-2
GRI 304-4

GRI 304-1: Operational sites owned, leased, managed in, or adjacent to, protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas

Scatec maps protected area proximity during project development and has assessed all operational Scatec operated power plant proximity to protected areas within 10km. Many of our power plants are in proximity to protected areas, but only one is partially within a protected area. The biodiversity impact on protected areas is assessed during project development and for established plants is low to very low.

Project and country	Technology	Project status	Area affected (hectares)	Position related to protected area	Distance to protected area (km)
Apodi, Brazil	Solar	In operation	856	Outside	3
Mendubim, Brazil	Solar	Under construction	1,050	Outside	3
Hrusovany, Czech Republic	Solar	In operation	8	Outside	1
Mramotice, Czech Republic	Solar	In operation	6	Outside	3
Sulkov, Czech Republic	Solar	In operation	22	Outside	2
Svitavy, Czech Republic	Solar	In operation	6	Outside	5
Agua Fria, Honduras	Solar	In operation	63	Outside	2
Los Prados, Honduras	Solar	In operation	133	Outside	2
Merchang (QSP), Malaysia	Solar	In operation	81	Outside	1
Mocuba, Mozambique	Solar	In operation	126	Outside	4
Sukkur, Pakistan	Solar	Under construction	287	Outside	3
Dreunberg, South Africa	Solar	In operation	250	Outside	1
Linde, South Africa	Solar	In operation	108	Outside	4
Kenhardt, South Africa	Solar	In operation	750	Outside	5
Progressovka, Ukraine	Solar	In operation	203	Within	0
Chigirin, Ukraine	Solar	In operation	82	Outside	1
Boguslav, Ukraine	Solar	In operation	75	Outside	1
Kamianka, Ukaine	Solar	In operation	50	Outside	8
Rengy, Ukraine	Solar	In operation	63	Outside	1
Dam Nai, Vietnam	Wind	In operation	760	Outside	4

GRI 304-2: Significant impacts of activities, products and services on biodiversity

Scatec’s key potential biodiversity impacts by technology are summarised below:

Solar power plant construction involves land use change over significant areas that can involve habitat conversion and potentially degradation.
Wind power plants can, if poorly placed, have substantial impacts on birds and bats due to collisions throughout the lifetime of the project.
Hydropower plants can disrupt the flow of rivers affecting aquatic species as well as impacting land species if large areas are flooded to create reservoirs.

Scatec’s projects have varying impacts on biodiversity depending on their size and location. Many of our projects are built on brownfield sites or low-grade farmland with limited habitat impacts. These solar power plant developments can potentially have had a positive impact for some species that can re-establish, as the land is used less intensively than when farmed. Most of our projects are built, at least partially, on greenfield land often in wilderness areas which can result in reductions in biodiversity at the project site. Impacts will occur from construction through to decommissioning, a period of 20-30 years for solar and wind projects and 30 years or more for hydropower projects. Most negative impacts are reversible as we actively work to avoid and mitigate irreversible impacts during the project design phase. Scatec also has an obligation under the Equator Principles to restore sites at end of life to their previous state or better.

GRI 304-4: Sites red list and national conservation list species are identified in the Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA) or Environmental and Social Due Diligences (ESDD)

Biodiversity assessment during project planning includes mapping species that occupy or are near to the site that will be developed. The mapping methodology and types of assessments vary depending on the biodiversity risk. This is influenced by technology, habitat affected, proximity of known endangered species and size of the project. Results across power plants therefore can be used as an indication of the number of species potentially impacted but may not reflect actual species affected.

For example, some lower risk projects will have desktop assessments whilst higher risk projects such as solar plants in biodiverse areas and hydropower or wind projects will have on the ground surveys to identify actual species present. For wind projects, specialist third party assessments are carried out for birds and bats, whilst for hydropower it may be fish, mammals, and plants.

Critically endangered species identified include:

Coccoloba Cholutecensis (tree) in Honduras.
White Backed Vulture in South Africa.
European Mink in Ukraine.

	Critically endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable	Near threatened	Least concern
IUCN Red List species and national conservation list species with habitats in areas affected by operations	6	14	31	28	1,088

Projects that share an ESIA or species assessment due to close geographical proximity are not included in the total to avoid double counting.

The total number of critically endangered species include two of each species listed above.

Biodiversity at our Grootfontein solar project in South Africa

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed for Scatec’s Grootfontein solar project (in backlog) during 2023.

Scatec engaged a third party to provide specialist faunal input for the proposed development as part of our EIA, with particular reference on the Riverine Rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis), a Critically Endangered specie known to occur in the greater area.
A Habitat Assessment and Camera Trapping Survey was conducted to establish the presence or absence of the Riverine Rabbit and in general, characterise the fauna of the site in more detail. A total of 30 camera traps were distributed across the site giving rise to 6 weeks of continuous camera trapping.
12 different mammal species were captured by the cameras. The low diversity and capture rate can be explained by the relative homogeneity of the site and aridity of the area, compared to the wetter and more diverse landscapes of the surrounding environment. However, no Riverine Rabbits or other species of conservation concern were captured or observed at the site.
As an extra step in proactive mitigation, the project will put Riverine Rabbit identification guides up during construction to encourage project staff to report any sightings, not only from the project site but the larger area in general. Any sightings will be investigated and reported to the local conservation authorities.
By informing authorities and conservation partners such as The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), the project can contribute to the overall understanding of the distribution range, population dynamics etc. Scatec always strives to contribute towards biodiversity conservation!

Methodology

Biodiversity data is gathered during desktop studies, E&S baseline studies, site visits, etc. and captured in formal ESIA / ESDD documents. Scatec, our project partners or external specialists will complete such studies and assessments. Third party specialists report findings and mitigation measures are incorporated into project ESAPs. The E&S team in collaboration with the O&M team is responsible for implementing the measures on each project (where applicable).
Information gathered and captured include the number species ranging from critically endangered to near threatened and vulnerable species, as well as the species of least concern, as per the IUCN definitions. In addition our projects’ location (in kilometres) in proximity to protected areas and IUCN or other protected status designated areas. Further details, such as size of the project (in hectares), are disclosed for projects adjacent to, or within such protected areas.
Updates to species’ lists was done by a desktop review of all regions with projects where endangered species were identified. Tracking of biodiversity impacts will be made on an annual basis from 2024, based on publicly available research and confirmations from biodiversity high-risk sites. Changes to the status of critically endangered, near threatened and vulnerable species are documented within the project’s ESIA / ESDD.