A double win: A guide to integrating clean energy with nature restoration

The ‘A double win’ insight, developed under Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living programme in partnership with Regen, focuses on the importance of considering clean power and biodiversity together, and outlines the key environmental challenges and opportunities associated with specific clean energy technologies.

Net Zero Go says:

This report is designed to help local authorities gain a high-level understanding of how policies for delivering clean power and nature recovery relate to one another, as well as the environmental challenges and opportunities associated with specific clean energy technologies.

The opportunities discussed could be considered in local plans, local authority-led projects, and conversations with developers. This report may be of interest to local authority officers whose roles include planning, Net Zero, nature recovery, education, or economic development. Beyond local authorities, other stakeholders may find this report useful as an overview of the topic.

A double win: A guide to integrating clean energy with nature restoration

Local authorities across the UK face increasing pressure to deliver clean energy at speed while safeguarding and restoring nature. This report shows that these ambitions don’t need to compete. In fact, when clean energy and nature recovery are planned together, councils can unlock a ‘double win’ by accelerating decarbonisation and improving local ecological and environmental health.

As the UK scales up solar, wind, storage, and grid infrastructure, councils will be presented with more complexities, but also more opportunities, to shape developments that deliver wider local benefits. National policy is shifting in this direction, with Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS), and the forthcoming Land Use Framework all encouraging a more strategic, nature-positive approach. But delivery ultimately depends on local planning authorities having the confidence, capacity, and skills to act.

This analysis explains how well-designed clean energy projects can actively enhance nature. Solar farms managed for mixed habitats can support higher species richness than agricultural land. Onshore wind developments can be planned in partnership with local ecologists to restore carbon-rich habitats rather than damage them. Grid infrastructure and battery storage sites can be integrated with wildflower meadows, tree planting, and sustainable drainage systems.

If local authorities can bring these strands together through planning and procurement, then they will be better equipped to address community concerns about landscape change. And by recognising the overlap between climate and nature priorities, and by embedding these considerations early into projects, councils can accelerate Net Zero delivery in ways that strengthen public trust and improve local environments.

Key findings

Local authorities roll out clean energy more quickly by embedding nature-positive criteria into local plans, strengthening the ecological capability of their planning teams, and proactively partnering with developers.
Using LNRSs, BNG metrics, and emerging land-use guidance can help inform and influence site selection and design, even before planning applications.
Prioritising multifunctional land use and encouraging solar, wind, and storage projects that deliver co-benefits can restore natural habitats, reduce biodiversity loss, and creates healthier living environments for residents.

A double win: A guide to integrating clean energy with nature restoration

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