Environmental Reports

Effects of solar panels and management on pollinators and their interactions with plants in Southern French solar parks

Plant and soil responses to ground-mounted solar panels in temperate agricultural systems

Impacts of ground mounted solar farm/parks on biodiversity - July 2025 Prepared by SWT Trading Ltd: Wilder Ecology, Brooke House, Ashbocking, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP6 9JY

Recent surveys of the Llanwern solar plant on the Gwent levels highlight a severe decline in the Lapwing breeding colony and Shrill Carder Bee activity. There is also concern about a significant drop in the protected bat population. The very rare breeding Eurasian Cranes have disappeared altogether.

Norfolk Wildlife Trust supports solar farm development when they are at suitable locations, at a scale and to a design appropriate to the local environment. Solar farms can and should contribute to both reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping nature’s recovery.

Until recently, monitoring of solar farms has not been applied consistently across the UK, making comparisons between sites difficult. In response, Solar Energy UK, in collaboration with Lancaster University, Clarkson & Woods and Wychwood Biodiversity introduced the standardised approach to monitoring biodiversity on solar farms. This standard enables the collection of comparable data, providing a clearer understanding of ecological trends on solar farms.