Today is Solar Independence Day so we’re celebrating all things good about solar! Solar is a great renewable energy option because it produces electricity in way that is especially low risk for wildlife. We’d like to see solar on roofs and other built infrastructure, such as car parks and bridges, where few if any risks are posed to the natural environment. Solar farms which generate larger quantities of renewable electricity can also provide wildlife benefits if appropriately sited and proactively managed.
As part of our recently published report RSPB’s 2050 Energy Vision, we mapped the deployment potential of renewable technologies that require large areas of land, taking into account physical, policy, and known ecological sensitivities into account. This mapping found that there is still substantial potential for growth in solar deployment in the UK in harmony with nature, we concluded that just under a 1/6th of our current energy consumption could be produced from low ecological risk ground-mounted solar. Installing solar farms could even help improve biodiversity. Where wildlife focused land management is being used, a recent report found that solar farms can provide a boost in abundance and diversity of invertebrates such as bees and butterflies, some birds, flowers and broad-leaved plants. Potentially great news for nature! We’re looking to improve the evidence base around this, so we’re currently working with a partner organisation to look specifically at the interaction between solar farms and birds and hope to have more details to share later in the year.
See RSPB's 2050 Energy Vision report for full details and guidance on interpreting this map - it is indicative only and should not be used for individual site selection.
Encouragingly in the first quarter of 2016 more solar was installed in the UK than any other quarter to date bar one, taking the country's total capacity over 11GW[1]. However, this rate of installation was due to an industry rush to install projects ahead of the March deadline for the Renewables Obligation scheme, and installation rates are expected to be drastically lower from now on. This at a time when countries like the US are dramatically increasing their rate of installation[2]. Innovation in battery storage may be the lifeline that the UK solar industry needs as combining solar and storage will help installations to supply energy at times of greater demand, helping to balance the grid better as more intermittent renewable technologies come online.
At the RSPB we are taking advantage of the benefits of solar. We have solar panels installed on rooftops at over a dozen of our reserves and are always looking for more opportunities to install renewable technology to help lessen our carbon footprint. We’d like all businesses and individuals to consider how they can do more to lessen their impact on the environment, and solar panels are often a great option.
Solar panels installed at RSPB Aylesbear Common (left) and RSPB Newport Wetlands (right)
Despite good deployment in recent years, we’re still only doing a fraction of what is possible in the UK. We consider that more, not less, should be done to make sure that solar deployment realises it’s full potential, especially on domestic and commercial rooftops. There is an estimated 250,000 hectares of south facing commercial roofs in the UK. In DECC’s 2014 Solar Strategy the government acknowledged that they “need to do more to encourage take up” due to the additional barriers to deployment experienced in this sector. Since then little has changed. We urge the government to make encouraging rooftop solar a priority; it is a massive missed opportunity for the UK (including a business opportunity), to not utilise every single square metre of rooftop to harness renewable energy. We want to see a low-carbon future where all homes and commercial premises are smart, efficient energy-producing buildings. The more we can reduce the energy demand of our built infrastructure, and produce energy through low ecological risk technologies such as solar, the more likely we will be able to achieve the UK’s 80% emission reduction targets in harmony with nature.
[1] http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/exclusive_uk_installed_1.553gw_in_q1_2016
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/jun/28/solar-power-energy-us-utilities-environment-climate-change
Harmony with nature
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