New policy recommendations detailing how solar farms can help support UK nature as well as meet climate goals have been presented to policy makers at Westminster.
Lancaster University researchers joined the RSPB and Solar Energy UK (which represents members of the UK solar industry), researchers from the University of York and ecologists from Clarkson & Woods and Wychwood Biodiversity ecological consultancies to present two reports to MPs and civil servants at Portcullis House, in Westminster.
Launched at a Parliamentary event this week, the 'Nature positive solar farms: policy guidelines for a bright future', which was jointly produced by Lancaster University, the RSPB, and the University of York, was accompanied by 'Solar Habitat 2026', the fourth edition of Solar Energy UK's analysis of on-site ecological monitoring data, which was also contributed to by Lancaster University researchers.
The policy guidelines report notes that solar farms "offers significant opportunities to simultaneously mitigate climate change and benefit nature".
It summarises the state of knowledge of how solar farms interact with the natural world, identifying knowledge gaps and recommending policies to support the creation of nature positive solar farms.
Among these recommendations are building the evidence base for site-specific data, industry establishing a network of research-intensive solar farms, clarifying government expectations and setting aside some land within solar farms to experiment with concurrent land uses, such as food production.
Dr Fabio Carvalho, a Lancaster University researcher who co-authored the guidelines, said: "With the expansion of solar farms, we need to ensure design, construction, and management methods are well suited to local conditions to maximise benefits for nature and minimise detrimental impacts given the peculiarities of each site. It's therefore very important that planning decisions are grounded on scientific evidence and local data as much as possible and that sites are monitored throughout their lifetime, to not only allow for changes in management if needed but also better inform future developments."
The Solar Energy UK 'Solar Habitat 2026' report, which was also contributed to by Lancaster University researchers, summarises biodiversity data gathered from six per cent of British solar farms, was also presented at the event.
The monitoring data detailed observations around plant and wildlife found across solar farms in the study with more than 2,800 birds, 259 plant species, 2,500 bumblebees, 27 species of butterfly, eight species of mammal found across these sites.
Alona Armstrong, Professor in Energy and Environmental Sciences, who attended Westminster to help present the reports to policy makers, said: "We need to decarbonise our energy systems to mitigate climate change, and this can also be done in a way that enhances biodiversity. These reports provide evidence that solar farms, when well located, designed and managed, can support biodiversity and outline how policy could further support solutions that mitigate both the climate and biodiversity crisis."
L-R: Samuel Gregory Manning (RSPB); Rose Buxton (RSPB); Piran White (University of York); Alona Armstrong (Lancaster University); Fabio Carvalho (Lancaster University); Miranda Jones (Clarkson & Woods); Harvie Agnew (SEUK); Aodha O'Carroll (SEUK); Guy Parker (Wychwood Biodiversity).
