York, North Yorkshire — Est. 1998

Engineering a future
the land can sustain

Vanhinsbergh Energy Conservation designs, engineers, and delivers renewable infrastructure that reverses environmental damage — not merely slows it. For twenty-six years we have measured our success not by megawatts alone, but by the land, water, and communities we leave healthier than we found them.

View our work
2.4GW
Clean energy delivered
140+
Projects across 22 countries
Who we are

Twenty-six years of
restoring what energy
has taken

Vanhinsbergh Energy Conservation was founded in York in 1998 by Dr Michael Vanhinsbergh, a soil ecologist who had spent the previous decade documenting the ecological collapse of post-industrial landscapes across northern England. His conviction — that the energy transition was not simply a technical problem but a moral obligation to the land itself — has shaped every decision the practice has made since.

We are an independent, employee-owned consultancy of thirty-one engineers, ecologists, and community specialists. We do not accept commissions from fossil-fuel operators or speculative grid projects. Every engagement we take on must pass a single test: will this leave the ecology of the site measurably better than we found it? Since 1998, 94% of our completed projects have met or exceeded their environmental baseline targets at five-year review.

Remediation before generation

Before any turbine turns or panel charges, we conduct a full ecological survey and agree a binding remediation plan with landowners, ecologists, and — where applicable — local Indigenous or heritage authorities.

Soil, water, and biodiversity commitments

All contracts include legally enforceable clauses requiring minimum 15% improvement in soil organic carbon and local species-count indices within ten years of commissioning.

Community equity, not community consultation

We structure projects so that host communities hold a minimum 10% equity stake and receive direct annual revenue sharing — not one-off payments — for the project's operational lifetime.

Zero greenwashing policy

We publish independently audited environmental impact accounts for every project annually. We were the first UK energy consultancy to adopt the Natural Capital Protocol in full, in 2019.

Beyond the brief

Giving back to the land

Commercial work funds the practice. Charitable work is why it exists. We commit a minimum of 12% of annual net revenue to environmental remediation and community energy access programmes — no grants applied for, no conditions attached.

The Vanhinsbergh Peatland Trust

Founded 2009. We have funded the restoration of 4,200 hectares of degraded blanket bog across the North Pennines and the Flow Country of Caithness. Restored peatland sequesters carbon at rates thirty times higher than plantation forestry and provides irreplaceable habitat for curlew, dunlin, and golden plover. Work is carried out in partnership with the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust and RSPB Scotland.

Clean Energy Access Fund

Established 2014. A grant programme providing micro-hydro and solar micro-grid equipment to off-grid communities in Laos, northern Kenya, and rural Morocco — the same regions where our commercial projects operate. Since inception, the fund has brought reliable electricity to 31,000 households that previously relied on kerosene lamps and diesel generators, eliminating an estimated 18,400 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent per year.

Apprenticeship & Field Science Programme

Running since 2004, this programme has trained 218 apprentices — drawn exclusively from post-industrial communities in Yorkshire, County Durham, and South Wales — as renewable energy technicians and ecological surveyors. Graduates hold full NVQ Level 3 qualifications. Eighty-one percent remain employed in the clean energy sector. The programme is fully funded by the practice; we do not accept government apprenticeship levy contributions.

Dr Michael Vanhinsbergh Environmental Bursary

Awarded annually since 2017 to a first-generation university student reading ecology, environmental engineering, or conservation science at a UK institution. The bursary covers full tuition fees and a maintenance grant for the duration of study, with a guaranteed twelve-month placement at the practice upon graduation. Applications are assessed blind, with no consideration of prior academic institution.

Portfolio

Selected projects

Solar
Atacama Solar Corridor

320MW utility-scale solar installation across Chile's Atacama Desert — one of the highest irradiance sites on earth — supplying clean power to the national grid.

Antofagasta, Chile2024
Wind
Rogaland Offshore Array

28-turbine offshore wind farm in the North Sea, delivering 420MW to the Norwegian grid and supporting the country's long-term decarbonisation targets.

Rogaland, Norway2022
Retrofit
Medina Heritage District

Low-impact energy retrofit across 14 historic buildings in Morocco's UNESCO-listed medina, using building-integrated PV and passive cooling techniques.

Fès, Morocco2019
Storage
Pilbara Grid Stabiliser

180MWh grid-scale battery storage facility anchoring a remote mining region's transition away from diesel generation in Western Australia.

Pilbara, Australia2017
Hydro
Mekong Community Micro-Hydro

Network of 8 run-of-river micro-hydro installations serving 12,000 rural households across three provinces, with zero impact on seasonal fish migration.

Laos PDR2015
Solar + Storage
Nairobi Industrial Microgrid

Integrated solar and battery microgrid serving a 200-hectare industrial park on the outskirts of Nairobi, reducing grid dependency by 88% and eliminating diesel backup.

Nairobi, Kenya2020

Let's build something lasting

We are selective about the work we take on. Every enquiry is read personally by a senior member of the team. If your project aligns with our environmental standards, you will hear back within three working days. We do not respond to speculative property development or fossil-fuel transition requests.

info@vecllc.org
+1 501 216 7067
Little Rock, Arkansas, USA