A new study by scientists from Lancaster University and sustainable energy company Low Carbon has been launched to understand the impact of solar farms on biodiversity.
The research, which will be carried out at the Westmill Solar Park in Oxford, will use new technologies to continuously assess the presence of pollinating insects around the solar park. These technologies include acoustic monitoring equipment and automatic insect monitoring (AMI) traps that assess the biodiversity of moths in the area.
Although this technology has been used to assess biodiversity in agricultural environments, this is the first time it has been used in a renewable energy environment.
ESG and Sustainability Director at Low Carbon welcomed Harriet Parker: “At Low Carbon we aim to create as much sustainable energy capacity as possible while protecting the environment for future generations. For us, it is not good enough just to be a leading producer of renewable energy; we must also create a positive impact to protect and stimulate nature and biodiversity. The data already tells us that solar sites can positively contribute to nutrient-poor land that is no longer capable of producing food on a large scale by allowing the land to rest. I’m curious to see what other benefits we can learn about solar energy. this new study.”
Hollie Blaydes, researcher at Lancaster University, who is leading the research, added: “We are very excited about this research and look forward to measuring biodiversity using new methods. By leveraging these emerging technologies in addition to conducting traditional monitoring techniques, we hope to gain insight into what the future of biodiversity monitoring on solar farms could look like. The data we collect will also tell us more about how pollinators respond to solar farms, compared to similar land uses, which is critical in embedding biodiversity benefits into solar developments.”
Biodiversity is a major problem
Many who object to solar farms worry that their land use could damage wildlife habitat, but evidence has shown otherwise.
A 2024 study by Solar Energy UK praised solar farms as “biodiversity havens”, with Hollie Blaydes responding by noting at the time that “Groups such as birds and invertebrates appear to respond positively to biodiversity-focused management on solar farms and we I hope to continue working with the data to further unravel the identified patterns.” Ecologically sensitive bird and mammal species, including yellowhammers, linnets, starlings and brown hares, were commonly found at the 87 solar farms studied.
Previous studies have also confirmed the positive impact of solar farms on biodiversity, with environmental impact studies from Downing Renewable Developments and Endurance Energy showing a net biodiversity gain of 176% and 62% respectively on their 50 MW solar farm plans.
Developers of solar parks are increasingly focusing on biodiversity in their development plans. Queequeg Renewables recently partnered with environmental consultancy Biodiverse Consulting to boost biodiversity at five of its solar and battery energy storage systems projects.
Solar Power Portal’s publisher Solar Media will host the UK Solar Summit on June 4-5, 2024 in London. The event will explore Britain’s new utility and rooftop solar landscape, look at the opportunities within a GW+ annual market, and much more. For more information, go to the website.
