Solar farms with wildflowers return habitats for bees

Wildflowers with solar panels, UK. (source: Solarcentury)

With bees and other pollinators under threat from habitat removal and pesticides, adding wildflowers to land containing solar panels will add valuable ecosystem services to the environment.

Wildflowers, including short native grasses, could be sown mechanically using a native seed mix. Such a plantation will need much less mowing than grassland and will provide habitat for bees, insects, birds and other native animals.

Value could also be added to such a solar farm by lightly grazing sheep in autumn and winter. By taking such holistic measures, we can avoid the criticism that solar farms use up valuable arable farmland.

References:
- Solar arrays abuzz thanks to new pollinator-friendly vegetation initiative. Solar Power World, May 2017.
- Solarcentury set to build holistic solar farm. CleanTechnica, October 17, 2014.
- Solar power is playing a growing role to save the bees. CleanTechnica, August 12, 2019.