Rachel Hayes is Head of Consents and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) at Solar Energy UK, where she leads the organisation’s work on land use, nature, and environmental policy across the UK solar and storage sector. Over six years with the organisation, Rachel has played a key role in bringing biodiversity and nature recovery to the forefront of government and industry discussions. Rachel has supported the solar industry to maximise opportunities for environmental enhancement, ensuring renewable energy generation can be delivered alongside meaningful nature recovery, to achieve biodiversity and clean power gains from the same areas of land.

Raised in Hampshire, much of it spent on farms and in the countryside, Rachel’s passion for nature began early in life. Those experiences continue to shape her belief in the importance of protecting the environment.