SSE Renewables has announced that it has joined OCEaN – a coalition of European NGOs, offshore wind developers, and Transmission System Operators (TSOs).

The coalition is collaborating to ensure that the deployment of offshore wind is balanced with the need to protect and enhance marine ecosystems including improving collaboration with other spatial uses of the sea and with climate, nature protection and restoration goals.

The Renewables Grid Initiative (RGI) is the convener and moderator of OCEaN, which now has 28 member organisations.

Kate Wallace Lockhart, Head of Sustainability, SSE Renewables, said: "SSE Renewables is delighted to join the Offshore Coalition for Energy and Nature, which has established itself as a collaborative forum for offshore wind developers, TSOs and environmental NGOs to share ideas, knowledge and best practice. We've got an ambitious set of commitments for the company, not only in deploying more offshore wind capacity, but doing so in a way that enhances biodiversity. Participating in OCEaN will no doubt help us achieve those goals by being in dialogue with industry peers and stakeholders."

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Cristina Simioli, Programme Manager - Offshore Energy And Nature, Renewables Grid Initiative, said: "We are delighted to welcome SSE Renewables to the Offshore Coalition for Energy and Nature. We look forward to learning from SSE's experience and starting to collaborate alongside OCEaN Members on the identification of concrete solutions to speed up the deployment of offshore wind while protecting and enhancing our marine ecosystems."

SSE's vision is to be a leading energy company in a net zero world. Renewable energy is essential for meeting global ambitions towards a green and sustainable economy. To achieve our vision, our strategy is to create value for shareholders and society from developing, building, operating and investing in the infrastructure and businesses needed in the transition to net zero.

SSE Renewables is leading the construction of almost 5GW of new offshore wind generation and has the largest secured offshore wind development pipeline in the UK and Ireland at over 9GW. Internationally, SSE Renewables is expanding into new markets, like the Netherlands, where the offshore wind opportunity is immense and critical to achieving both significant emissions reductions and Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).

Last year, SSE Renewables published its first ever Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) toolkit at COP27. The report, entitled 'Positive for the Planet', outlines the steps taken by SSE Renewables to enhance the natural environment and sets out the company's commitments for achieving Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) across its business.

Our ultimate goal at SSE Renewables is to achieve Biodiversity Net Gain across all of our operations, from new developments to operational sites, and across all technologies and geographies. SSE Renewables is committed to building on these efforts to date and has set targets for achieving BNG on newly consented onshore renewable energy sites from 2025 onwards, underpinned by a robust methodology and a comprehensive 10-point action plan.