ABP, SSE Renewables and Naturalis to work together on marine biodiversity for upcoming IJmuiden Ver tender
Pension fund ABP, SSE Renewables, and Naturalis Biodiversity Center have signed an agreement to work on biodiversity at sea. ABP and SSE Renewables, together with APG pension investor, are participating in the tender for wind energy area IJmuiden Ver through the Noordzeker coalition.
In the tender criteria for IJmuiden Ver, the Dutch government sets high requirements for sustainability and ecology in addition to financial criteria. ABP wholeheartedly supports this desire and is the initiator of Noordzeker, which aims to develop a large wind farm in the North Sea. Noordzeker will offer a market-based price that is in the interests of ABP’s 3.1 million pension participants. Partnering with Naturalis is an important step in meeting sustainability and ecology requirements.
“With Noordzeker, we have the ambition to develop a large wind farm in the North Sea. With this we can ensure not only a good pension but also affordable and clean energy for our participants and the Netherlands,” said Harmen van Wijnen, ABP Board Chairman. “That is why Noordzeker and Naturalis Biodiversity Center are joining forces to work on biodiversity, because we want wind energy that is good for people and planet.”
With a team of more than 120 researchers, Naturalis is the Netherlands’s leading research institute in the field of biodiversity. Noordzeker and Naturalis find in each other a partner that cares deeply about biodiversity.
Maaike van de Kamp-Romijn, deputy general director of Naturalis, says: “All life depends on each other. To maintain that balance, Naturalis studies biodiversity. Much is still unknown about life in and above the sea. We also see that biodiversity in the Netherlands is in a poor state. Through Noordzeker, we have a partnership that takes biodiversity seriously. We look forward to working together on the IJmuiden Ver project.”
Together, Noordzeker and Naturalis want to do everything possible to protect biodiversity and nature. This partnership will take further shape in the coming months.