A number of academics around the UK are researching the impact of solar farms on biodiversity, and major studies have all drawn the same conclusion: when well-managed, solar farms are not harmful to biodiversity and can actively support the growth of nature in an area.
This one is for the birds
Recent research conducted by scientists from the University of Cambridge, commissioned by the Royal Society for The Protection of Birds (RSPB), has shown that solar farms can provide a safe haven for birds, much more so than similar farmland.
The research, part of the Centre for Landscape Regeneration’s continuing work and published in the journal Bird Study, compared six solar farms across East Anglia with different approaches to nature management to similar arable farmland and found that, hectare-for-hectare, solar farms in the area hosted three times as many birds as arable farmland. Furthermore, how the solar farm’s land was managed significantly impacted the bird population found there.
Solar farms constantly grazed by sheep and not surrounded by hedgerows had a lower bird population than solar farms which were surrounded by hedgerows and with no sheep grazing or grass cutting. However, both kinds of land management still led to higher bird populations than arable land did.
A number of bird species that have seen dwindling population numbers in recent years were observed in the areas picked for study, including corn buntings, yellowhammers and linnets. In fact, almost a quarter (24.5%) of birds observed on solar farmland are on the Birds of Conservation Concern (BoCC) red list, defining them as some of the most endangered birds seen in the UK, while 38.6% of birds spotted were on the amber list, marking them out as of increasing conservation concern.
In an RSPB press release about the study, Dr Catherine Waite, researcher at the University of Cambridge and co-author of the study said: “With the combined climate and biodiversity crises, using land efficiently is crucial. Our study shows that if you manage solar energy production in a certain way, not only are you proving clean energy but benefitting biodiversity.”
The RSPB’s chief executive Beccy Speight added: “Delivering a future that safeguards nature, tackles climate change, ensures food security and resilient farm businesses, and enables sustainable development is the only sensible path. This research shows that it is possible to balance competing needs.”
A brief interruption
There is also a significant amount of scaremongering that tends to bubble up whenever a new solar farm is proposed, that suggests that the installation process of a solar farm will permanently harm the landscape, long after the normal 40-year operational lifespan of most solar farms. In fact, quite the opposite is true.
Solar farms take a more “hands-off” approach to grassland management, without using fertilisers or pesticides, so soil health is given a chance to improve from a previously intensely managed state. In a 2022 experiment at Keele University 12,500 solar panels installed alongside two wind turbines and a large battery energy storage system, not only did the researchers find that the grass recovered quickly after the installation was complete, but the process naturally established a native grassland habitat that was far richer in biodiversity than the previous ploughed field that occupied the site.
Observation, net gain, and the importance of ongoing research
The 2024 edition of Solar Energy UK’s Solar Habitat report highlights the importance of continual research into biodiversity, noting: “Solar farms can contribute towards addressing the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss by reducing emissions and, with good management, encouraging biodiversity. While the first claim is widely accepted, it is important that claims about biodiversity are substantiated by ongoing observations.”
As such, the Standardised Approach to Monitoring Biodiversity on Solar Farms was published in 2022 and has been used since to help ensure that studies monitoring solar farm biodiversity work to a universal framework and are then able to be reliably compared and contrasted.
As of February 2024, the UK requires that all proposed solar farm projects deliver a biodiversity net gain of at least 10% overall – but this minimum is commonly exceeded by ambitious projects developing everything from new ponds to wildflower meadows to even a community orchard alongside their solar farms. With this requirement so easily cleared by so many developers, is it time to raise the minimum biodiversity net gain requirement to a higher level to help set higher ambitions for nature?
In addition to the research mentioned above, a number of other research projects exploring the ecological impact of solar farms are currently ongoing. These include a study commissioned by EDF Renewables, environmental management consultancy Nature Positive, and Exeter University, which will examine EDF’s upcoming Longfield Solar Farm project over six years to establish what effects large-scale solar farms can have on soil health, fauna, wildlife habitats and carbon flux. An experimental area of 50 hectares on the site will allow researchers to test different management regimes and compare their results with undeveloped agricultural land.
Furthermore, Low Carbon has partnered with the University of Lancaster to use pioneering technology to monitor the presence of pollinating insects at the Westmill Solar Park in Oxford. The study will use acoustic monitoring devices and Automated Monitoring of Insects (AMI) traps that assess moth biodiversity in the area, marking the first time this technology has been used to assess biodiversity in a renewable energy setting.
