BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT
BIODIVERSITY AND SOLAR FARMS
The destruction of habitats and intense cultivation of agricultural land has caused a rapid decline in biodiversity (the variety of wildlife) across the world.
In the last few years, in an attempt to help boost biodiversity in the UK, the government has implemented Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements for new developments. Any new development in the UK must have measures in place that ensure an overall increase in biodiversity as a result of the project.
Solar sites offer significant opportunities for biodiversity enhancements with the potential for long periods of relatively undisturbed existence. Recent research has shown that solar farms with active biodiversity management strategies are having a beneficial impact on British wildlife, particularly birds and pollinators. Solar farms give a period of respite to arable land that previously had been impacted by intense cultivation and extensive use of pesticides and herbicides. Boundaries around solar farms, such as hedgerows and trees, can provide habitats for wildlife. There is often space in and around solar farms for man-made habitats such as bird boxes and beehives.
OUR BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT SERVICES
We have developed significant in-house capacity to manage the grounds of your solar farm to ensure compliance with existing planning requirements as well as propose opportunities to improve biodiversity on the site.
By undertaking Biodiversity Net Gain assessments, we can ensure that the solar sites are compliant with BNG legal requirements. We can help create Landscape and Ecology Management Plans which utilise solar farms to help reverse the current trend of declining wildlife in Britain.
We can propose opportunities to improve the biodiversity of the site such as:
- Installing bird and bat boxes
- Planting hedgerows and wildflowers
- Stocking wood piles
- Timing hedgerow and grassland cutting
Sources:
Copping, J. P., Waite, C. E., Balmford, A., Bradbury, R. B., Field, R. H., Morris, I., & Finch, T. (2025). Solar farm management influences breeding bird responses in an arable-dominated landscape. Bird Study, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/00063657.2025.2450392
Blaydes, H., Potts, S.G., Whyatt, J.D. & Armstrong, A. (2021). Opportunities to enhance pollinator biodiversity in solar parks. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 145: 111065. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2021.111065
Solar Energy UK Natural Capital Best Practice Guidance (2022), Solar Trade Assocation https://solarenergyuk.org/resource/natural-capital-best-practice-guidance/