The Multi-Benefits of Solar PV Plants to Their Surrounding Environment

Solar photovoltaic (PV) is among the most widely deployed renewable energy technologies worldwide and is set for a rapid expansion over the coming decades. By the end of 2024, solar PV had contributed 77% of annual capacity additions, reaching 1 867 gigawatts of total installed capacity.

While solar PV potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and generate electricity at lower cost than fossil fuels is clear, its potential to also benefit its surrounding environment needs to be highlighted. When solar PV plants are deployed on disturbed or degraded land, for example, they may accelerate the process of land recovery, making the land more fertile.

Just like any energy projects, solar PV plants can influence local environmental aspects, such as the atmosphere, water, soil and surrounding ecosystems. Any negative impacts of a solar PV plant on the local environment depend heavily on the selected location and construction approaches. For example, replantation under PV panels deployed in areas with fragile ecosystems may introduce invasive species, if it is not based on careful assessment of native species.

This is why a recent report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) calls for proactive planning in solar PV deployment, to safeguard the ecosystems and to benefit its local environment. Because of the way solar PV plants affect its surrounding environment, with proper planning they can be used to benefit agricultural-, economic- or conservation-related activities. In instances where solar PV is integrated into agricultural activities, it generates several benefits which include reduced irrigation water demand, higher crop survival rates, and increased productivity.

More added values can be further harnessed by combining solar PV operation with different sustainable practices, as follows:

1. Agrivoltaics: With necessary modifications, combining agricultural activities with solar PV plants can improve land-use efficiency. It can also increase agriculture productivity which improves food security and the livelihoods of farmers. In addition, in areas where agriculture lacks access to water and electricity, solar PV can be used to power irrigation systems. An example of women farmers in Rwanda shows how solar-powered irrigation has improved their livelihoods.
2. Solar grazing: Since grass in solar PV plants needs regular management to prevent overgrown, combining solar PV plants with grazing livestock-such as sheep, cattle, poultry-can also bring benefit to the environment. Livestock grazing in solar PV plants can reduce fire hazards from overgrown shrubs, for instance. It can also save costs on vegetation management and the panels can protect the animals from heat, potentially increase the livestock meat and milk production. In Canada, a study found that utility-scale solar farms combined with sheep herding can increase farmers' profit up to 40%, depending on how the sheep are sold in markets.
3. Solar for degraded land restoration: Degraded lands such as mining sites can cause dust and sandstorms driven by strong winds. When solar PV projects are deployed in areas with these conditions, they may control sandstorms and restore local vegetation, therefore supporting the land restoration.
4. Ecovoltaics: The environmental changes brought about by solar PV plants can rebalance ecosystem and improve local biodiversity. Pollinators, such as butterflies and bees play important roles in the ecosystem and agricultural activities. Planting pollinator-friendly vegetation under solar PV plants has been shown to create a more suitable habitat for pollinators compared to areas without solar panels. In Germany, for example, pollinator presence in agrivoltaic projects increased by 33% to 88% compared to areas without panels.
5. Aquavoltaics: When solar PV is deployed on water bodies-known as floating solar PV-it may improve water quality and help control detrimental algal growth. When combined with aquaculture activities, floating solar PV can impact the water ecosystem by reducing water evaporation and regulate water temperature. Other co-benefits include improvement of water quality and aquatic species, which has been the experience of a seafood farm in China, where production is improved and farmers see more income.

The IRENA report mentioned above finds that harvesting the co-benefits of solar PV plants and agricultural-, economic- or conservation-related activities requires the adoption of necessary measures, apart from careful assessment of potential negative impacts on the environment and biodiversity. Policies and measures need to address existing barriers while enabling the expansion of sustainable practices that minimise negative impacts and promote co-benefits between renewables generation and environmental conservation.

These policies include integrated long-term planning and targets, financial and fiscal incentives, industrial guidelines and standards, and dedicated capacity-building and training programmes. At the same time, multi stakeholders from different sectors must be engaged to ensure these policies are adaptive, inclusive and effective. Stakeholders engagement must start from the early planning stage of solar PV projects and continue throughout the operation and decommissioning processes.