360-Deegree Environmental Risk Atlas

Q: Why should project developers turn to Terranova for social and environmental impact assessments?

A: With over 12 years of experience, Terranova is a marketrecognized company that is well-respected among its peers in the sector. The company has broad knowledge about the industry and its regulatory framework. Several staff members, myself included, have worked for governmental institutions such as SEMARNAT, Mexico City’s Ministry of Environment and others. This experience provides Terranova with the necessary tools to address any contingencies that might arise prior to, during and after administrative procedures presented before government agencies. Our expertise goes one step further given our comprehensive understanding about how the public and private sectors work. This means Terranova is prepared and experienced to operate under current market trends and the country’s regulatory framework.

Q: What project best showcases Terranova’s added value?

A: Terranova specializes in field studies for wind resources and has developed several studies for companies in places such as San Luis Potosi, Coahuila and Zacatecas. These studies covered areas of 7,000ha, 5,000ha and 12,000ha, respectively. Terranova’s studies provide complete inventories and diagnostics of the vegetation and wildlife present across the entire terrain, as well as soil conditions. Companies with our support can build evidence-based projects with greater certainty and security. 

The Zacatecas project posed a series of challenges, such as delicate security conditions but in the end, we contributed to the development of a successful project. On the positive side, the land for this project belonged to a single owner, which streamlined the process and allowed us to carry out a quick and strategic ecological assessment. This evaluation relied on predesign elements, fed by satellite-based cartography to evaluate the types of vegetation, which were later used to estimate the stratified sampling effort, considering the variation, concentration and amount of vegetation per hectare. Afterward, a customized onsite team specialized in vegetation and wildlife diagnosis conducted the field study homogeneously across the entire field, based on the predesign data.

Q: What are the primary components of Terranova’s Risk Atlas for renewable energy projects?

A: A Risk Atlas is a thematic map with superficial and underground information in certain areas, covering meteorological, hydrological, geological, hydrometeorological, chemical, social and other risks related to the industry. The Risk Atlas allows us to detect and evaluate the specific risks of a determined surface, such as floods, landslides, geological faults or any other environmental factors that might affect a given population or geographic zone. This tool can improve urban planning and help project developers to mitigate the possible risks and contingencies related to their projects.

Q: What is Terranova’s comparative advantage in its consortium capacity?

A: Terranova is made up of companies and civil associations. This group includes Ingeniería Aplicada y Sustentabilidad Ambiental, a company that offers a wide range of services on impact and environmental risks, integral waste, water and land management and environmental legal advice and management procedures. In general, the group of companies that make up Terranova do work related to environmental risk within the energy sector, including the oil and gas and renewable energy industries. Considering we are also very active in the agrobusiness sector, our consortium includes Base Consultores Agropecuarios, a company specialized in topics related to reforestation, soil use, vegetation production, management of governmental resources and other consulting services. Pangea, another company, carries out projects focused on urban development and ecological land use.