THE EDIT
Your monthly briefing on the journey to fossil freedom
Issue #33, When energy meets nature, May 2026
Photo: Ricky Wood
Reshaping hydropower for the next chapter
What to know: Offshore wind relies on subsea cables to transport electricity to shore. Like all electrical infrastructure, these cables generate electromagnetic fields (EMFs), an area that remains largely understudied. A joint project between Vattenfall and universities in Denmark and Sweden is now tracking harbour porpoises to better understand whether – and how – marine mammals detect or respond to these fields.
Why it matters: As offshore wind capacity scales towards potentially 2,000 gigawatts globally by 2050, understanding its interaction with marine ecosystems becomes increasingly important. Insights from this study could inform how future cables are installed and help shape the design of new wind farms
Photo: Adobe Stock and Tommy Ominde
Protect wildlife – and world economy
Biodiversity loss is a serious threat not just to wildlife, but to businesses, a recent scientific report shows. “What we’re now seeing is that supply chains themselves are at risk due to climate change, pollution, water loss and more,” says Dr David Obura, a marine ecologist and Chair of IPBES, the independent body behind the report. The report also outlines more than one hundred actions to help businesses and governments address these risks.
Higher standards
The renewables and grid sector is now covered by 32 biodiversity-related frameworks and standards, according to the report Current state of Environmental Reporting for the Renewables and Grid Sector from The Global Initiative for Nature, Grids and Renewables (GINGR). 17 of those are mandatory and 15 voluntary. This is a sharp signal that nature is becoming a part of clean-energy governance, not just an environmental add-on.
On the right flight path
Photo: Tommy Ominde
New research from Vattenfall's Aberdeen offshore wind farm in Scotland shows that no birds were involved in collisions with turbines during the 19-month monitoring period, as they adjust their flight paths well before reaching the structures. Using AI, researchers have been building a detailed picture of how birds move through these environments. The findings add nuance to an often polarised debate – highlighting both the adaptability of birdlife and the need for continued, evidence-based study as wind power expands.
News flash
3 x quick updates from the energy world
Photo: Adobe Stock
Crucial choices
Researchers at the universities of Zurich and Hong Kong examined 40,000 renewable plants to discover how land use affects biodiversity. The report shows that technology, location, ownership, and financing are crucial. (df.uzh.ch)
Photo: Adobe Stock
Our house as a digital twin
Buildings accounted for around 30 precent of total global energy demand in 2025. This figure can be reduced by creating a “digital twin” of a building, combining monitoring input and control data.
(theconversation.com)
Photo: Adobe Stock
Council estate efficiency
In 2019, Hackney Council set a goal to decarbonise the London borough. One key factor has been placing solar panels on the roofs of low-income council estates to improve energy efficiency. (time.com)
And finally …
Storing heat in sand
One fifth of the world’s total energy consumption comes from industrial heat production. Many industrial sextors – from food production to chemical processing – rely on hot steam, which is currently primarly generated from fossil fuels. Finnish company TheStorage might have found a way around that, reports Euronews. By converting clean electricity (when it’s cheap) into high-temperature heat and then storing it in sand, the heat can be used in industrial processes regardless of (other) clean energy availability.