How environmental concerns are top of the agenda for energy giant ERG

Over the past few decades, the company has transformed itself from one of Italy’s leading oil and refining companies to one focussed wholly on green power and on helping the UK and Scottish governments, along with other European governments, to meet their carbon reduction targets. 

As Costantino Deperu, ERG’s Chief Engineering Development Officer, explains, the company has two ongoing projects in Scotland, namely its Sandy Knowe and Creag Riabhach wind farms. Currently under construction, the first of the two projects is expected to become operational by the end of the current year, with the second going live during the third quarter of 2022. The group also has wind farms in Northern Ireland. 

Deperu is responsible for overseeing the entire technical development, engineering and construction of such projects for the Group across Europe. For wind farm projects, his responsibilities begin with project initiation, which could involve either brownfield or greenfield sites, and includes defining wind farm layout and selecting the wind turbines that will be used, and overseeing project execution and design.

As with all ERG projects, the Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) dimension of every project is taken very seriously. “In one of our two Scottish projects we have Forestry and Land Scotland as a counterparty. We worked very closely with the Forestry people to analyse the environmental impact the project would have and to find solutions.” 

Deperu points out that the UK’s net-zero carbon targets have put it right at the forefront of leadership in the fight against climate change. “There is now a clear awareness that renewable generation projects represent the most powerful way for the world to seek to minimise our negative environmental impact and to achieve our carbon reduction targets.

“We are very heartened by the UK’s ambitous targets, which are way ahead of our own government’s targets here in Italy, as well as being ahead of the carbon reduction targets set by the rest of Europe. However, we are very aware of the fact that you have to couple environmental and ecological considerations, along with renewables development to achieve these goals,” he comments.

Social aspects are also just as important. In all its projects, ERG works very closely with local communities to ensure that they are fully involved, both in the approval and the development phases. Workshops and town meetings are held to explain the scope of the project and how environmental and ecological considerations and concerns will be taken into account in both the development and the running phases of a project. 

“We work very hard to establish a good relationship with the local community and with local developers, engineers and construction firms. We always seek to maintain, amongst other things, an open dialogue with the local communities involved in our projects, and with all stakeholders. Our aim is to have ERG UK perceived for what it actually is, a UK company providing sustainable investments, jobs and green power locally, with respect for the communities and the environment,” he says.

As part of its ESG policy ERG will always look to see where it can bring benefits to the local communities within which it is operating. An example of this is that during the COVID crisis in 2020 and through 2021, ERG funded the purchase of hundreds of tablets for schools in the area around its Sandy Knowe wind farm.

This enabled young people to attend virtual classrooms and helped to reduce difficulties caused by the pandemic. 

Deperu adds: “Our Sandy Knowe wind farm will be funding the Sanquhar Community Council. The community there also has the opportunity to participate in a ‘shared ownership’ structure as an investment model. We think that extending the opportunity to invest in the wind farm and enjoy the returns through the operational life of the project, can become an important driver, promoting a long term involvement in these developments by local communities.” 

He points out that at the Creag Riabhach project, ERG has signed a Community Benefit Agreement with two local trusts, the Altnaharra Community Trust and the North and West Sutherland Trust. ERG is also carrying out road-widening works for some sections of the public road connecting Lairg and Althanarra.
These works, required to accommodate turbines delivery to the Creag Riabhach wind farm, will also facilitate the traffic in coming years helping the local community and related businesses.

At Sandy Knowe, ERG will construct a circular footpath between the turbines, giving people the chance to enjoy the site and to integrate the farm into local life. 

Last but not least, there are the benefits that flow from the construction phase of these projects. 

This phase creates work for local subcontractors and has spill over benefits for local hotels, restaurants and businesses. 

“Although ERG is quite new in the UK and we are building our first portfolio of wind assets, which amount to about 250MW of generation capacity, our interest in the UK dates back to 2015. 

“At that time we started a partnership with local developers looking at potential sites, either from scratch or through acquiring projects that were already at a more developed stage. 

“We plan to continue this activity and to grow our portfolio as opportunities arise,” Deperu says. 

He points out that ERG’s industrial plan commits the group to pursuing growth in Europe and that ERG regards the UK as a priority market, due to the UK’s leadership position in the fight against Climate Change. “Our two Scottish projects, Sandy Knowe and Creag Riabhach, are an important part of the plan,” he concludes.

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Process of consent still has its challenges

WHILE the consenting process in the UK is generally in line with that of other European countries, there is widespread agreement, both in the UK and in Europe, that the whole ‘permitting’ process needs to be shortened. 

“We have to realise that if the various emissions reduction targets that European countries and the UK have set for themselves are to be achieved, then bringing more renewable power generation onstream is vitally important. Without this, these targets will inevitably be missed,” ERG's Costantino Deperu warns. 

One of the problems facing engineers when it comes to wind farm design is that the technology that drives the sector is extremely fast moving. 

Deperu said: “If you set out to specify a wind farm in year one, and you don’t achieve consent and the ability to move forward for five or so years, all the turbine specifications of the original design will be obsolete. 

“The turbines themselves may not even be available any more. 

“You always want to apply the most innovative and efficient technical solutions and it is very challenging when there is such a mismatch between the length of the consenting process, and the speed with which technology changes in this industry.”

In Scotland, he points out, there is another, equally challenging dimension, involving connecting the wind farm to the national grid. 

In this country, where wind farms are very often developed in areas that have no grid presence, the Transmission System Operator (TSO) is responsible for getting the grid infrastructure ready. 

This means the project's entire authorisation path often has to be followed by the TSO – which can sometimes cause consent issues when constructing wind farms.

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ERG energised against climate change

ERG is particularly proud of the fact that it is rated "A-" in the Climate Change program by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), positioning it in the "Leadership" bracket. This positions ERG among the European companies that have adopted best practices in the fight against Climate Change. 

These practices were largely set out in the COP21 Paris Objectives. It puts ERG above the European average of companies producing energy from renewable sources.

ERG recently also obtained confirmation of the “AA” rating from MSCI, one of the leading research companies on corporate performance calculated on the basis of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors, maintaining its position in the top quartile of companies with the best score.

These important acknowledgments demonstrate ERG's continuous commitment to put the fight against climate change at the centre of its corporate strategy and the energy transition process, and in building a sustainable development model.
ERG is particularly pleased to be helping the UK achieve its net zero carbon targets.

It is well known that the UK is assuming, year by year, the role of world leader in the decarbonization process with a target to bring greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 as clearly stated in the UK’s CGS (the Clean Growth Strategy). 

This is the backbone of the development of renewables in the UK and has really challenging goals. 

The fight against climate change and the universal awareness that renewable energy is the most effective way to achieve the decarbonization targets, places ERG and all green IPP’s (Independent Power Producers) in the right position, in this historical moment, to couple industrial development with ecological transition, through an evolution of a more ethically aware society.

• This article was brought to you in association with ERG as part of The Herald's Climate For Chnage campaign