ECO-I North West - Opening up the expertise, equipment and resource of the region’s leading universities

Company Profile Eden Renewables is an international developer of renewable energy and energy storage, with projects in the UK, US and sub-Saharan Africa. Eden pioneers an innovative, sustainable approach to solar development and sets industry-leading standards for biodiversity and ecological enhancement, continued agricultural use, education and shared or community ownership to ensure that their projects offer benefits to the local community throughout the project lifecycle. The Project Photovoltaic (PV) solar power is an increasingly important source of low carbon electricity, experiencing rapid growth in the past decade. However, large ground-based solar parks require significant land use change and not enough is currently known about their full environmental impact. This project aims to quantify the positive and negative impacts of ground-based solar parks on biodiversity, ecosystem services and natural capital in the North West of England. This will provide an evidence base for a solar park accreditation scheme, allowing for the promotion of ecological co-benefits alongside the anticipated growth in solar parks across the North West and beyond. Lucy Treasure Lucy graduated with a first class MSci in Ecology and Conservation from Lancaster University and later worked as a Graduate Ecologist with Atkins. Her PhD in Environmental Science focuses on quantifying the ecosystem impacts of solar parks in the UK and development of a solar park management tool. Academic Supervisors Dr Alona Armstrong Dr Stuart Sharp Dr Simon Smart Eden Renewables