Clarkson & Woods are proud to be co-authors on the third edition of Solar Habitat. This is an annual report published by Solar Energy UK in collaboration with ourselves, Wychwood Biodiversity and Lancaster University. It pools ecological monitoring data from solar farms in order to examine trends and provide a robust evidence base in terms of how solar farms interact with wildlife.
We attended the launch event at the House of Commons, with talks given by Edward Morello MP, Michael Shanks MP (Minister for Energy), Chris Hewett (CEO, Solar Energy UK) and Matthew Boulton (Director of Solar, Storage and Private Wire, EDF Renewables). It was great to see how much interest there is in the report by politicians and also industry.
Solar Habitat 2025 comprises the biggest dataset yet, with 124 solar farms included in the study and more than 2,000 botanical quadrats taken. A total of 764 transects were walked to record butterflies and bumblebees and 6 sites were subject to bird surveys. The report continues to show that where solar farms are managed with a focus on wildlife, the diversity on the site increases. The report also contains case studies looking at the complexities and costs of cutting and collecting grass on solar farms, the Wildpower Scorecard (a certification scheme which promotes biodiversity management) and studies conducted by the RSPB and University of Cambridge looking at birds on solar farms and soil and pollinator studies carried out by Lancaster University.
We look forward to more monitoring in 2025 and building further on this important evidence base. If you are interested in conducting monitoring on a solar farm or have any questions, we would be happy to help.
To download a copy of Solar Habitat 2025 or find out more visit SEUK
