Sustainability actions during development – the low-hanging fruit

05.05.2025

Expert insights: The Taaleri SolarWind III Fund develops renewable energy projects in-house. This provides opportunities to improve the sustainability performance of the assets. These opportunities aren’t available to the same extent when buying fully permitted assets. For example, opportunities to reduce the project’s negative impact on local natural values are decided already in the early stages of development. In this commentary, Pauli Maaninka explains that the aim is to be a good neighbour for the whole project lifetime and beyond. 

Renewable energy projects are always a long-lasting investment, starting from project identification and planning to construction, operation and finally decommissioning. On the other hand, the footprint of the project can last even longer. There are many ways to reduce and compensate for these effects.

I have been working in the renewable energy sector for almost 20 years. The change from working in a small team building small scale wind parks in Finland to a major league team we are today, has been dramatic. In 2007, when I joined my first wind development team, the wind power production in Finland was only 0.188 TWh. The small share of wind power in the Finnish production charts was barely visible. Today wind power is the second largest form of production in Finland amounting to 19.8 TWh in 2024. Yes, over 100 times more than in 2007. Last year’s solar production also surpassed the 2007 wind production number and is ramping up now, with the hockey stick curve looking much like wind power did in the past.

The increase from roughly 100 turbines to almost 2000 turbines is reflected in more than just the production figures. The positive impacts of using renewables include clean electricity production, an efficient reduction in emissions, increased energy self-sufficiency, and economic benefits such as affordable energy, job creation, and tax revenues to the municipalities. However, there are some impacts that are challenging. A few imminent ones are that the production equipment cannot be hidden from sight, wind turbines produce noise, and that the local environment changes due to construction activities.

My aim is to develop and build projects that I can confidently support throughout their entire lifetime and beyond. The positive impacts of a project often come naturally and are relatively easy to achieve. However, managing the more challenging aspects is crucial to ensuring that the project becomes a good neighbour to both the local community and the environment. I’ve always embraced the phrase “being a good neighbour” throughout my career, referring to engaging in actions that are cooperative, acceptable, and enduring. Nowadays this could also be said as “developed in accordance with our ESG policy”.

My aim is to develop and build projects that I can confidently support throughout their entire lifetime and beyond.

Taaleri Energia’s ESG guidelines are adhered to throughout the entire lifecycle. In Finland, the EIA process during the development phase ensures compliance to key ESG requirements. Unfortunately, this has not always been the case and still isn’t in many countries. However, the industry has made significant progress and evolved considerably. Today, it’s not enough to simply secure permits for a windy, environmentally friendly location and a grid connection point. It’s essential to think innovatively beyond these steps and consider how to make the project from “do no significant harm” to “do significant good”.

Today, there are useful tools to reach better results. In our Finnish development projects, we have committed to study the impacts of projects on biodiversity using the BOOST method in accordance with the Finnish Nature Conservation Act and are also testing the UK’s BNG method. We aim to reduce the negative biodiversity impacts when constructing these projects by using the information obtained through these methods. In the daily life of a developer, this means that we are actively seeking the best actions for every project where we can do significant good in a cost-efficient way.

In one of our pilot projects, our concrete actions are to first assess the natural values of the area and develop a plan to enhance these values. We will identify concrete measures to reduce the ecological footprint. When the plans are made, we will calculate the project’s ecological harm, or ecological footprint, and determine how much compensation, or ecological offset, is required to reach a nature positive result. To compensate, our primary plans have been to restore old peatlands on site. Alternatively, areas with important natural values can be designated for protection. We will also calculate the impact of restoration actions on the project’s carbon balance.

Since all of this is measurable and all our funds are article 9 funds, we will report our achievements. To me, however, it’s more important to be able to proudly say that we truly are a good neighbour and do significant good.

Pauli Maaninka has been awarded the ESG Action of the Year 2024 in recognition of his initiatives to reach Taaleri’s sustainability goals. During 2024, Pauli has developed a practical tool for tracking social engagement actions during the development period. He has also been the driving force behind devising an innovative, low-cost nature positivity plan for a Finnish development project in our fleet. He integrates ESG processes into the everyday workstreams of the projects he manages with ease and sets an example to his peers.

This piece is part of Taaleri Energia's Sustainability Report 2024, which can be accessed here.

Expert insights is a series in which Taaleri's leading professionals offer perspectives and analysis on current topics within their areas of expertise.