l'Actualité du Solaire

Biodiversity within solar power plants is becoming increasingly important for a large section of the population. This could help to change the perception of these energy production areas.

Simply cutting the grass under the panels less reduces costs and increases animal and plant diversity. This biodiversity can help limit climate change. It gives power plants good environmental, social and governance ratings with investors. It provides a good image for potential investors.

Governments finally seem to be waking up to the urgent need to do more to combat the catastrophic loss of biodiversity we are experiencing. This awareness has been catalysed by the Covid-19 pandemic and by the growing realisation that biodiversity is not just nice to have. It is essential to our health, our economy and human existence on this planet.

The UK's Environment Act will require all new development projects to increase biodiversity by at least 10% from 2023. This should include the creation of habitats for wildlife. The soil of such a power station is no longer ploughed or injected with chemicals. This lack of maintenance encourages nature to return to its original state, with positive knock-on effects for the surrounding areas. This can be accentuated by the creation of a pond or by raising fences to let small mammals through.

Solar power plants are likely to become places of biodiversity and nature reclamation. The regeneration of nature will be as important as the production of energy. In five to ten years' time, solar farms will look and feel very different from the way they do today,

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/06/11/the-weekend-read-the-dawn-of-deep-green-solar/

PV Magazine, 11 June 2022

Editor's note Biodiversity can be a priority. It's also understandable that this multi-occupation of land makes it possible to make better use of space, and therefore make solar power plants more profitable. That's why it's going to become the norm without any difficulty.