Ecovoltaics research aims to balance grid scale solar with wildlife and livestock

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Ecovoltaics research being done at the University of New England (UNE) New South Wales, aligns with global efforts to balance the need of large-scale solar with the conservation of wildlife and compatbility to livestock.

Though the Climate Council’s Electric Shock report finds 0.02% of Australia’s land mass, or 1,200 square kilometres of land is the maximum needed to supply all of Australia’s domestic energy needs with renewables, the best locations are predominatly in rural and regional areas, sharing land used by stock or wildlife.

UNE School of Environmental and Rural Science Senior Lecturer Eric Nordberg told pv magazine his research seeks to identify better ways to manage landscapes, which have more than one use.

“Solar farms are one of the fastest growing ‘new landscapes’ around the world, and we should be striving to ensure they can support local biodiversity and provide suitable habitat for native species,” Nordberg said.

“We’re interested in working with companies in the early stages to avoid removing key wildlife habitat, minimising disturbance, and strategically placing panels to maintain habitat connectivity and travel corridors for wildlife.”

Spotted marsh frog (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis) found within a solar farm in Armidale, NSW, Australia.

Image: Eric Nordbert

To date, Nordberg and his team have initiated several projects with large scale solar farms in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland but look to expand their research.

“We have been collecting baseline data to identify what species are found within solar arrays and how they compare to the biodiversity in adjacent farmland paddocks in typical land condition that would have existed before the solar farm was built,” Nordberg said.

“By understanding which species are present and which are missing, we hope to provide advice to land managers on how to improve land condition and (re)create habitat for wildlife within solar arrays.”

“We’re interested in working with companies in the early stages to avoid removing key wildlife habitat, minimising disturbance, and strategically placing panels to maintain habitat connectivity and travel corridors for wildlife,” Nordberg said.

Nordberg has also previously been involved with the publishing of independent advisory body Community Power Agency’s regenerative guide to nature-positive solar farming called Building Better Biodiversity on Solar Farms.

Globally, research is ongoing including in the US, where the Department of Energy (DOE) solar energy technologies office (SETO) announced in 2024 a $6.9 million (USD 11 million) Solar with Wildlife and Ecosystem Benefits 2 (SolWEB2) funding opportunity.

The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is also rsearching interractions between habitat, pollinators, and solar energy production on three large working solar farms.

In 2024, the United Kingdom utility EDF Renewables also started a six year study partnered with Exeter University into the effects of large-scale solar farms on soil health, fauna, wildlife habitats and carbon flux.

The scale of Nordberg’s research requires he also grow his team of PhD student with an interest in this field.

“The applicant may have special expertise in anything from vegetation management, invertebrates and pollinators, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, birds, bats, etc,” he said.

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