About strategic offset delivery agreements
The Biodiversity Conservation Regulation 2017 enables eligible projects to use a strategic offset delivery agreement as a way to deliver biodiversity offsets. This conservation measure has been established to recognise the urgency of the transition to renewable energy while maximising strategic biodiversity outcomes from the investment in biodiversity offsetting.
By entering into a strategic offset delivery agreement (SODA), renewable energy proponents can meet an offset obligation set through a planning approval. The Environment Agency Head delivers the offsets either through the retirement of like-for-like biodiversity credits or funding conservation actions targeted at species or ecological communities impacted by the development, consistent with the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme.
Before the Environment Agency Head signs a strategic offset delivery agreement, a notice of intention to enter into a SODA must be published. The department must also maintain a register of the agreements the Environment Agency Head has entered into and record progress towards delivery.
Offsets delivered must be consistent with a conservation investment strategy, that identifies priority investment areas and actions for a region.
Who can enter into strategic offset delivery agreements
Proponents of projects that are:
- a priority transmission infrastructure project or renewable energy zone network infrastructure project within the meaning of the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020, or
- a renewable energy generation, storage, network or related infrastructure project within a renewable energy zone, or
- infrastructure to which a long-term energy service agreement applies.