In the ever-evolving landscape of renewable energy, effective communication is crucial for advancing sustainable developments and addressing public concerns. As a communications consultancy dedicated to advancing renewable energy projects, we recognise the importance of solid evidence in fostering understanding and support for solar farm developments.
The newly released second Solar Habitat Report, published by Solar Energy UK in collaboration with Lancaster University, Wychwood Biodiversity and Clarkson & Woods, offers compelling insights into how well-monitored solar farms can significantly boost biodiversity.
In this blog, Account Executive Holly Simons explores the relevance of the Solar Habitat Report to our communication strategies and how it can help us advocate for the benefits of solar energy while fostering a more informed dialogue within communities.
Recognising the current lack of consistent data and monitoring of solar farms across the UK, Solar Energy UK partnered with these organisations to develop a standardised approach to monitoring biodiversity on these sites. This methodology aims to track changes of biodiversity and draw meaningful comparisons across solar farms in the UK. This research marks a significant step forward in collective efforts for the effective management of solar farms.
This report serves as a vital resource for our work in solar farm development, providing a credible evidence base to counter criticism often received against such projects. By utilising its standardised methodology, stakeholders – including site managers, developers, policymakers, ecologists and local authorities, can navigate the complexities of solar farm management more effectively.
Government Biodiversity Targets
At the United Nations COP15 Biodiversity Summit, global leaders agreed to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)[i], which outlines a vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050[ii]. The GBF includes a comprehensive monitoring framework to plan, report, and review biodiversity efforts worldwide.
In response, the UK has developed the UK Biodiversity Framework (UKBF), reflecting the shared ambition of the four UK nations to protect and restore nature, in alignment with international commitments. In February 2024, the UK government introduced Biodiversity Net Gain, making it a legal requirement for all major planning developments to ensure a minimum 10% increase in biodiversity. Under this policy, developers must mitigate harm to nature, or where unavoidable, create new habitats or enhance habitats on-site, or invest in nature sites elsewhere. BNG guarantees that new developments will generate more nature than before[iii].
Similarly, Wales has its own biodiversity net gain policy, termed Net Benefit for Biodiversity (NBB). In October 2023, Welsh Government updated section 6 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016, placing a stronger emphasis on maintaining and enhancing biodiversity as well as promoting the resilience of ecosystems. Unlike England’s metric-based approach, NBB encourages developers to take a proactive approach on ecosystem benefits and resilience from the earliest design stages.
Both the Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) policy in England and the Net Benefit for Biodiversity (NBB) policy in Wales create frameworks that guide the development of solar farms to ensure they enhance biodiversity. The Solar Habitat model provides a standardised approach which can be implemented across solar farms in the UK to measure biodiversity gains as well as draw meaningful comparisons across sites.
Solar Habitat Report Insights
The second Solar Habitat Report, published in May 2024, offers a detailed analysis based on data from 87 sites surveyed in 2023. The findings reveal a diverse array of plant, invertebrate, bird, and mammal species thriving on solar farms. Notably, the report highlights a positive correlation between targeted management practices and increased biodiversity, as well as greater abundance of plant and animal life. The research was conducted through structured surveys and incidental observations.
Key Findings:
Plant Diversity: A total of 298 plant species were recorded across grasslands within 87 solar farms, with higher species diversity observed on sites managed with a greater focus on biodiversity.
Bird Species: 99 bird species were identified across the surveyed sites, including 21 species on the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Red Listed Species of Conservation Concern and 25 on the Amber List.
Invertebrate Diversity: Structured surveys of butterflies and bumblebees recorded 25 butterfly species and 6 bumblebee species, with 3,088 individuals recorded in total.
Mammal Sightings: Incidental observations from 33 sites reported the presence of ten mammal species on solar farms, including rabbits, brown hare, weasels, field voles, common shrews, foxes, and badgers. Fallow deer, muntjac deer and roe deer were also sighted.
Holly sat down with the Associate Director at Clarkson & Woods, Hannah Montag, to discuss the findings from the Solar Habitat Report and to understand what solar farm developers can do to enhance biodiversity on their sites.
- Why is this research so important? What are the most important things to take away from the Solar Habitat Report?
“Solar farms are a special type of development,” Hannah explained. “They represent a large-scale change in land use, and as the demand for solar energy grows, these farms are becoming bigger and more widespread. Yet, we had very little understanding of how wildlife interacts with these sites and how they are affected. That’s what drove us to pursue this research.”
Hannah went on to highlight the role of data collection: “As a consultancy, we collect significant amounts of data because many of these sites require monitoring. We realised we could put this data to good use. Now, we’re working closely with various academic institutions, including Lancaster University, to analyse the data and draw meaningful insights about biodiversity on solar farms.”
I went on to ask Hannah about the most surprising or significant findings from the report. She highlighted the striking variation between sites, explaining how some are heavily managed with frequent cutting or intensive grazing, resulting in poor, short grasslands. In contrast, other sites have flourished into what she described as verging on “lowland meadows,” (a habitat that has declined by 97%[i] in the UK), full of wildflowers including orchids – a transformation that paints a picture of lush fields bursting with life.
Hannah also noted the unexpected arrival of certain species thriving on solar farms, particularly brown hares. “It’s amazing,” she said. “You turn up on a site and it’s just full of hares, almost like flocks of them grazing. There’s something about solar farms, maybe the open structure, where hares can see long distances beneath panels while being sheltered from the sun and rain from above.” These findings offer a glimpse into how solar farms can even attract wildlife.
When asked about what advice she would give to developers who are looking to enhance biodiversity on their sites, Hannah highlighted the following key actions:
- Conduct soil testing early, as it informs effective management plans.
- Perform thorough ecological surveys by qualified and competent ecologists, to understand the existing wildlife and biodiversity that is on the site in order to design locally appropriate enhancements, and to avoid creating habitats that may harm the wildlife and species that are already there.
- Create a detailed and well-designed management plan, which specifies appropriate seed mixes, plant species, and timings for actions.
- Include a financial table in management plans to account for habitat creation, management and monitoring costs throughout the site’s lifecycle. This is especially important in the solar industry, where ownership changes frequently. By including a financial table within management plans that can be updated as the sites are passed along to different owners, this ensures that budgeting for habitat creation and management remains throughout the lifecycle of the site. An example management plan and financial table can be found in the links at the end of this article.
Holly was keen to hear Hannah’s thoughts on how developers can effectively communicate the biodiversity benefits of solar farms to key stakeholders, such as local authorities, councillors and residents. In our conversation, she emphasised the importance of using evidence-based information to share these benefits, as well as stressing the value of directly involving the local community.
“These solar farms are part of people’s communities, so I think the opportunity to get people involved should be taken” she said. “Rather than focusing solely on concealing solar farms, why not embrace them? If the site is visible, create a large wildflower meadow, for example, and add informative signage”.
When we think about community benefits of renewable energy developments, we often associate them with financial contributions developers make to the surrounding areas. What stood out in Hannah’s perspective, however, was her view of solar farms as shared spaces. These don’t just have to be locations for renewable energy production; they can also serve as educational hubs where the community can engage with and learn about the environment, energy generation, and the diverse ecosystems thriving there. This approach is similar to the work being done by organisations like Earth Energy Education, whose mission is to get school children out of the classroom and into renewable energy sites to learn about renewable energy, climate change and biodiversity.
To conclude our conversation, I asked Hannah how she thinks the relationship between renewable energy and biodiversity will evolve over the next decade.
According to Hannah, the link between renewable energy and biodiversity are becoming increasingly recognised. “We’re beginning to see that green energy can deliver not just environmental benefits but also meaningful biodiversity gains,” she said. “It’s an exciting area, and I believe we’ll see a lot more research into ways to enhance the habitats that interact with renewable energy infrastructure”.
When it comes to solar farms, Hannah pointed out that standard designs leave plenty of room to experiment with biodiversity initiatives. “Standard solar farms have a small footprint, with a lot of habitat space left untouched. But this varies with differently designed solar farms, like east/west panel configurations, where much of the ground is directly beneath the panels, leaving less space to work with. In contrast, I’ve seen more tracker panels being installed, which are easier to manage – they tilt to let more light in, and you can also cut and collect between them.”
Hannah also touched on the future of wind energy. With the arrival of the new Labour government, she anticipates more wind developments gaining planning permission. However, she noted that wind farms pose unique challenges when it comes to managing biodiversity. “Wind sites are different – there are certain species you need to discourage from the sites, which limits the biodiversity enhancements you can make. It’ll be interesting to see how we balance biodiversity with wind energy growth, and much of it will depend on the specific technologies and configurations being used.”
As Hannah suggests, the future of renewable energy and biodiversity will likely depend on a combination of innovative research, thoughtful design, and meaningful approaches based on the type of development. It’s clear that, as green energy continues to grow and evolve, so too will the opportunities to create thriving habitats alongside it.
Conclusion
The Solar Habitat Report and the ongoing efforts to standardise biodiversity monitoring on solar farms highlight the vital role that renewable energy can play in supporting the UK’s biodiversity targets. Crucially, through integrating ecological best practices into solar farm management, the industry not only contributes to green, clean energy production, but can also help to restore and protect the natural environments.
To find out more about Clarkson & Woods consultancy and the ecological survey and consultancy services they provide, please visit their website: https://www.clarksonwoods.co.uk/
Useful links:
To view the Solar Habitat Reports:
Solar Habitat 2024: SEUK-2024-Solar-Habitat-Report.pdf (solarenergyuk.org)
Solar Habitat 2023: Solar Habitat 2023: A Look into ecological trends on solar farms in the UK • Solar Energy UK
Best Practice guidance for enhancing natural capital on solar farms – Natural Capital Best Practice Guidance • Solar Energy UK
Standardised approach to monitor ecological changes on solar farms: A Standardised Approach to Monitoring Biodiversity • Solar Energy UK
Sample Biodiversity Management Plan – Sample LEMP 220422 (solarenergyuk.org)
Landscaping and Biodiversity Cost Schedule template: Illustrative-Solar-Landscaping-and-Biodiversity-Costing-Schedule.xlsx (live.com)
References:
- Convention on Biological Diversity – COP15: Final text of Kunmig-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework COP15: Final text of Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework | Convention on Biological Diversity (cbd.int)
- The Biodiversity Plan For Life on Earth https://www.cbd.int/gbf
- Understanding Biodiversity net gain (Gov.uk) https://www.gov.uk/guidance/understanding-biodiversity-net-gain#what-bng-is
- Magnificent Meadows – the Importance of Meadows Managing Meadows – Plantlife