[RECORDING] Accelerating Electricity Grid Deployment: Integrating Nature and Social Goals from the Start
- May 12
- 2 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Electricity grids are the backbone of the energy transition – but how we build them matters.
Renewable generation and electricity grids are scaling at speed, reshaping infrastructure systems worldwide. The critical question is no longer whether we expand – but how we do so.
GINGR and the Renewables Grid Initiative (RGI) hosted a webinar to present the findings of its new White Paper on Guiding Principles for Grids to Integrate Climate, Biodiversity & Social Goals.
Antonella Battaglini, CEO of RGI, opened proceedings, setting out why the rapid expansion of electricity grids is both a climate necessity and a critical moment to embed nature and social justice goals into infrastructure planning, rather than treating them as afterthoughts.
Presentation: Why Grids are Central to the Energy Transition
Adrián Maté, GINGR’s Environmental Coordinator, then walked participants through the report’s three guiding principles: integrating ecology and ecosystem services into grid planning; ensuring early stakeholder engagement, transparency and legitimacy; and applying adaptive governance based on local knowledge.
Cíara Taberner, Director of Safety, Health, Environment, and Communities at National Grid, explained how they are developing and delivering the largest energy infrastructure programme in decades for National Grid Electricity Transmission in the UK. The programme is enabling the mass rollout of clean electricity by modernising the grid to connect customers and deliver energy reliably, affordably, and at scale, with Climate, Nature and Communities embedded throughout.
She also introduced the National Grid Social & Environmental Action Plan (SEAP), which is the delivery framework for embedding climate, nature and social value outcomes into the way the electricity network is built and operated.
The session highlighted how early stakeholder engagement was a key accelerator — not a barrier — to project delivery, reducing legal risks, delays, and community opposition. It was underlined that data sharing, biodiversity monitoring, and adaptive management are essential tools for responsible, faster grid deployment.
For more on how GINGR is building indicators for Nature- and People-Positive outcomes in linear infrastructure, we warmly invite you to get in touch.