Improving our environmental performance

During the construction phase, a key aim is to minimise the environmental impacts of our activities – this is monitored daily by our dedicated EDF Energy Environment team.

The team’s main role is to protect the project programme by coming up with arrangements that consider the local wildlife and natural scenery, as well as quality of life for local residents. Other important duties include working with our regulators and driving activities that make our construction processes more sustainable.

With specialists in fields such as local ecology, land management, hydrology and the marine environment, the team is able to manage the wide range of risks on the project. Its scope of work includes promoting new technologies, such as electric cars and buses, reducing waste, increasing recycling and confirming compliance, while delivering a number of complex permits.

Marcus Pearson, Environment and Sustainability Manager, said: “We’ve put together a first-class team with lots of experience. The processes and administration of the project, and level of scrutiny on all areas of environment mean the team never has a quiet day!

“We’re now concentrating on dramatically reducing the amount of diesel fuel that’s consumed on site. This is our key goal for the year and will be achieved by minimising the use of generators and lighting towers, and changing to mains as soon as possible.”

There are also plans in place to open a Waste Consolidation Centre, Fuel Farm and Sewage Treatment Works in 2019. This will result in fewer HGV journeys to site, less CO2, greater volumes of recycled materials and more control over fuel distribution.