BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 27. ENGIE is
supporting more than 20 landowners in Scotland, Wales and England
in developing new woodland projects, providing funding for their
establishment and long-term management, the company said in a
statement on October 27.
The company is financing the initiatives by purchasing Pending
Issuance Units (PIUs), which represent the carbon dioxide expected
to be absorbed by trees as they grow. The carbon units are subject
to independent verification under the UK’s Woodland Carbon
Code.
CarbonStore, the woodland carbon division of Tilhill Forestry,
identified suitable projects, while The Shared Wood Company
assessed the initiatives and brought together more than 20 woodland
owners. The portfolio represents more than 200,000 PIUs, enabling
ENGIE to support woodland creation in different parts of the
UK.
The projects include Brynllewelyn in South Wales, where 44
hectares of diverse broadleaved trees have been planted on an
organic hill farm, and the award-winning Ardachuple Forest in
Argyll, Scotland. A significant proportion of the trees being
planted are native species. All projects are being developed under
the Woodland Carbon Code, the UK’s voluntary standard for woodland
creation initiatives.
The projects are expected to expand natural habitats, improve
local environments, support rural communities and contribute to
carbon removal as the trees mature.
ENGIE operates across the energy value chain, from renewable
electricity and green gas production to energy infrastructure,
storage, distribution and supply. The group employs more than
90,000 people in 30 countries and invests an average of €12 billion
annually in the energy transition. It aims to achieve net-zero
carbon emissions by 2045.
In the UK, ENGIE employs more than 8,000 people and manages a
varied portfolio of renewable energy generation and storage assets,
including Europe’s largest pumped-storage hydropower plant in North
Wales. The company also supplies energy to more than 17,000
business customers and produces over 200 GWh of biomethane
annually.
ENGIE owns UK Power Networks, the country’s leading electricity
distribution network operator, which serves 8.5 million customers
across London and the South East and East of England. Through its
joint venture Ocean Winds, ENGIE is also one of Scotland’s largest
offshore wind power generators, with installed capacity of 1.8
GW.
Over the past two decades, the group has invested billions of
euros in the UK’s energy transition, supporting energy security and
helping customers reduce their carbon emissions.
