Solar, Biodiversity & Land Use: What role does solar play in nature protection and ecosystem restoration?

The world faces two major challenges: global warming caused by the large concentration of greenhouse gases; and biodiversity loss, both driven by human activities which threaten our nature, society, and economy. Today, more than 85% of global wetland areas have been lost, and one million animal species are endangered. In Europe, more than 80% of the continent’s habitats are under critical conditions. In addition to decarbonising all sectors, the conservation and regeneration of ecosystems is essential. Therefore, addressing both biodiversity and climate change challenges simultaneously is crucial.

Renewable energy deployment needs to be dramatically accelerated, to tackle the climate emergency, support its energy security, and provide affordable energy to end-consumers. The energy crisis exposes Europeans to both high power prices, and the risk of gas disruptions in 2023. However, it’s also increasing the demand for solar deployment.
 
Reaching the EU’s climate, nature protection, and nature restoration objectives will require the mobilisation of land for renewable energy projects. It will be necessary to use appropriate regulatory frameworks to ensure that land is mobilised for solar deployment. Guidance and best practices on nature conservation and degraded ecosystem restoration are also required to reach both climate and nature protection objectives.

SolarPower Europe, in cooperation with BirdLife, published a first-of-its-kind best practices guidelines for Solar, Biodiversity and Land Use. This report provides support to solar industry stakeholders, detailing relevant EU environmental legislation for solar projects. It also provides guidelines to tackle the potential impacts of land use and outlines key actions for appropriate land identification for solar PV projects.  These guidelines also provide best practice examples on nature-positive solar sites across the EU, and recommendations on how to incorporate environmental considerations across different solar PV project phases.