Renewables Grid Initiative

📢 Calling all #cleanenergy experts and enthusiasts! Registrations for #EUSEW2025, the conference dedicated to #RenewableEnergy & #EnergyEfficiency, are open! And RGI and Eurelectric will co-host the policy session ‘Beyond Carbon: Reducing the Environmental Impact of Grids Across the Value Chain’. 🗣️Join us for an insightful session that brings together actors across the value chain of electricity grids; grid operators across voltage levels, suppliers and policymakers will discuss ways to minimise environmental impacts of grids, alongside enabling requirements and good practices. 📍 Brussels and online 🗓️ 11 June, 14:30 – 16:00 CEST 🔎Read more about RGI and Eurelectric’s session and register here👇 https://bit.ly/4lo3tGw

Our colleagues, Amanda Schibline, MBA, Ana Miljanović Rusan and Andrzej Ceglarz, PhD were there for the last in-person JustWind4All Consortium Meeting. Get in touch if you want to learn more about the project and its outcomes 🌬️ 👇

📌 Less than a month to go until the EMPower_energy conference starts in Munich! It reunites international experts in a conversation about how to intelligently connect decentralised systems and how to successfully integrate e-mobility into our energy systems. 👋 RGI is organising the session “Tackling transmission and high-capacity connection challenges”. Antonella Battaglini and Andrzej Ceglarz, PhD will be attending the conference and moderating the session on 7 May. Register now to learn more about innovative solutions to ensure reliable and efficient grid integration and future-proof energy systems. ⚡️ 💡Don't miss out! Get your ticket for the conference here 👉 https://bit.ly/429POdm #TheSmarterE #Intersolar #eesEvents #Power2Drive #EMPower

That is a wrap on WindEurope 2025! 🌊🌬️ The NiD4OCEAN Project team had a great time connecting with partners, catching up on the latest in #offshore #wind, and diving into the challenges and ongoing projects related to #biodiversity and nature-inclusive design. A special thank you to our partners at OCEaN – Offshore Coalition for Energy and Nature, Renewables Grid Initiative for their support and excellent organisation of panel discussions and side events - and for supporting the pre-announcement of our upcoming Innovation Challenge (🔗 https://lnkd.in/dFymxYJd) We are leaving the event inspired and already looking forward to WindEurope Annual Event 2026 in Madrid, where we are excited to share results and updates from the project! 🚀 #NiD4OCEAN #meetthepartners #RenewableEnergy #offshorewind #floatingsolar #WindEurope #MissionOcean #CINEA #HorizonEU #EUmissions

🌬️ 🪸 Together with Ørsted and DTU Aqua, I had the pleasure of presenting our joint project, #BioReef at the #WindEurope2025 – a concrete example of marine nature restoration project in Danish waters. 🦪 🌊 Our ambitions with the BioReef project are:  a) to gain the knowledge and develop the practical methods for growing European flat oysters and horse mussels and to reestablish reefs in the wild, b) to successfully reestablish European flat oyster and horse mussel reefs in Danish waters c) to share our experiences and inspire others to scale-up efforts and impacts BioReef project is a great example of how science, policy, and industry perspectives and knowledge can be brought together. At WWF Verdensnaturfonden / WWF Denmark, we believe that cross-sector collaboration is essential if we are to address the challenges we face and reach both climate and biodiversity targets. No single sector can solve this alone. Partnerships and a solid scientific foundation are key to long-lasting solutions for nature and climate. #Offshorewind is undoubtedly part of the solution to the climate crisis – but it must be developed in a way that does not place additional pressure on already stressed marine ecosystems. These ecosystems are in urgent need of better protection and active restoration. That’s why it makes perfect sense for WWF to engage in the dialogue around offshore wind and marine nature. Effective protection and restoration must become an integrated and permanent part of how we manage and value our oceans. At #WindEurope2025 in Copenhagen, we joined the event “Beyond turbines: Powering the Future and Boosting Marine Nature”, hosted by Renewables Grid Initiative and OCEaN – Offshore Coalition for Energy and Nature. 🔗 More about the BioReef project here: https://lnkd.in/d5RHsm3t Pernille Nielsen Tommy Kristoffersen Anette Kørschen Brænder Stine Gro Jensen Nicolai Kvist Krøigaard Sorner, Ana Miljanović Rusan Deni Aguilar Bellamy #MarineRestoration #NaturePositive #Biodiversity #GreenTransition

NiD4OCEAN Project team at WindEurope! 🌊 We are well into Day 3 and looking forward to insightful talks and engaging conversations about offshore wind, biodiversity and nature-inclusive design. Yesterday, our upcoming open #Innovation #Challenge - seeking innovative nature-inclusive concepts for floating offshore wind infrastructure - was pre-announced at the side event "Beyond Turbines: Powering the Future and Boosting Marine Nature", organised by OCEaN – Offshore Coalition for Energy and Nature, Renewables Grid Initiative and WindEurope. 📢 A dedicated post about the challenge is coming soon, but in the meantime, feel free to explore some details here: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dFymxYJd We have already had some great conversations and look forward to many more! If you are also attending WindEurope, feel free to drop us a message (Marta Moyano, Juan Pardo, Antonios Emmanouil) via the event app or right here on LinkedIn 👋 👋 #NiD4OCEAN #meetthepartners #RenewableEnergy #offshorewind #floatingsolar #WindEurope #MissionOcean #CINEA #HorizonEU #EUmissions

At #WindEurope2025, RGI and OCEaN – Offshore Coalition for Energy and Nature didn’t just attend as exhibitors and participants, we made waves! With three days of insightful discussions, panels, birdwatching (yes, really), and deep dives into strategic planning and sustainability criteria for offshore wind auctions, our message was clear: offshore renewable energy must go hand-in-hand with nature protection, restoration, and community inclusion. 🦞At our 'Beyond Turbines' side event, the room was buzzing with ideas. Here’s a glimpse of what stood out: 🗺️ Planning with purpose: From the upcoming European Ocean Pact to region-wide learnings between the North and Baltic Seas, the call was for deeper, multi-level cooperation. As Ariel Brunner from BirdLife Europe and Central Asia put it, sensitivity mapping must be the baseline—not the bonus. ⚖️ Auctions with ambition: Belgium’s offshore tendering now encourages and weighs stakeholder engagement and nature enhancement alongside cost. Lori Anna Conzo from the IFC - International Finance Corporation reminded us that in emerging markets, strong environmental standards are in fact already part of good financing. 🪸 Projects putting nature first: Ørsted, DTU Aqua, and WWF Verdensnaturfonden / WWF Denmark's BioReef restoration of oysters and horse mussels can be a blueprint for bringing back marine habitats. And fish hotels, eco-crossings, and biohuts? TenneT Netherlands and ECOCEAN's work acts as proof that offshore grids can be designed with nature in mind. 💬 “We need to do everything at once,” said Antonella Battaglini, CEO of RGI. “The transition is urgent—but not at the expense of ecosystems. Collaboration is how we move fast and fair.” 🔗 Read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/eCfPURuy

Final day at WindEurope! Day 2 provided a lot of great conversations with old and new colleagues leaving me with a sense of inspiration and motivation. Renewables Grid Initiative filled a room with people discussing how offshore wind and nature can coexist. Representatives from across policy, NGO and industry discussed, reflected and shared the best (and worst) experiences with specific examples and bigger brushstrokes on the use of policy instruments such as non-price criteria in auctions. Giles Dickson was setting the scene with a message of the historic big participation of nature organisations and professionals at the conference, highlighting how renewables and nature are interlinked and that the opportunities to work towards nature net-positive is not just theory but a current key focus in the sector. Antonella Battaglini, CEO at Renewables Grid Initiative, left me with a new perspective on renewables, when she articulated the simple, yet crystal clear message “It’s not because we love grids. We don’t. But they are necessary.” Without actually having thought about it so bluntly before, I think that is exactly how I feel about turbines. Integrated planning. Jan Hensmans, Director-General Energy Belgium, highlighted to relevance of the North Seas Energy Cooperation and the Greater North Seas Energy Initiative to plan across countries. Xavier Guillou, DG Mare, stressed that dialogue is key and the best answer cheapest solution in most cases is passive restoration - ie avoiding impacts through careful and smart spatial planning. Olivier Feix, Head of Strategy at Elia Group/50Hertz, highlighted the perspectives of an important TSO on necessity to plan grids across countries to minimised environmental impacts. Clustered approach on regional scale is the way forward. Use the existing experience. Ariel Brunner, Regional Director at BirdLife International, insisted on using the knowledge from previous projects and established markets. Allocating space for both energy and nature is paramount. Doing this will be a critical approach to avoiding cumulative environmental impacts becoming future showstoppers for buildouts. Policy instruments. Tinne Van der Straeten, Energy Minister Belgium, emphasised that policy makers should keep their eyes on the aims and let industry’s handle the methods. “Strict on the target, but soft on the methods.” A message I fully agree to - no-one knows the toolbox better than the wind industry!

Wind energy 🤝 biodiversity Wind energy is undoubtedly beneficial for nature, providing a clean and sustainable source of power. The wind industry is collaborating proactively with environmental and biodiversity NGOs to ensure that the positive impacts of wind energy are maximised and any potential adverse effects are mitigated. It’s great that so many came to Copenhagen to join us for #WindEurope2025. Already before the start of Day 3 at WindEurope 2025 this morning, Dan Jørgensen, European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, Ariel Brunner from BirdLife Europe and Central Asia, Antonella Battaglini from Renewables Grid Initiative, DOF BirdLife (Dansk Ornitologisk Forening) and WindEurope representatives met for a bird-watching session. We need more of that. By working together, we can create a harmonious balance where wind energy supports and enhances biodiversity, ensuring a healthier planet. 🌬️🤝 

There’s no perfect 💯 wire marker to prevent bird collisions, but research shows what works best 💪 By following key design principles (below), manufacturers can get as close as possible to an optimal solution. These design principles include: ✅ Sufficiently large wire markers – The larger the marker, the more visible it is. But it must also be lightweight enough to be applied at regular intervals without putting excess strain on power lines. 💨 Movement that catches attention – Mobile markers are more effective as birds notice motion better than static objects. 📏 Spacing – Markers placed at short intervals make power lines consistently visible, reducing the risk of collision. 🌟Visible in low light and high internal contrast - High internal contrast using black ⚫️ and white ⚪️ patterns like checkerboards 🏁 ensures visibility in various light conditions, even at long distances. 💪 Durable – Markers need to withstand harsh weather conditions while remaining effective. 💶 Economically viable – Practicality matters; solutions should be scalable and cost-effective for widespread use. These factors combined make for a more effective wire marker—helping birds navigate their airspace safely while supporting grid development. 📖 Understand the specifics about optimal wire markers and their role in preventing bird collisions: 🔗https://lnkd.in/eQchpkNf