How is solar energy a solution?

How Does Solar Energy Interact with Wildlife and the Environment?

As a renewable source of power, solar energy has an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change, which is critical to protecting humans, wildlife, and ecosystems. Solar energy can also improve air quality, reduce water use from energy production, and provide ecosystem services for host communities through carbon sequestration, pollination, and ground and stormwater management. Because ground-mounted photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) installations require the use of land, sites need to be selected, designed, and managed to minimize impacts to local wildlife, wildlife habitat, and soil and water resources. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) supports research to better understand how solar energy installations, wildlife, and ecosystems interact and to identify strategies that maximize benefits to the local environment and host communities.

Why is This Research Topic Important?

DOE’s Solar Futures Study presents various scenarios for solar energy deployment that could help the United States achieve a carbon-free electricity grid by 2035. According to the study, solar energy development could require as much as 5.7 million acres of land, which is about 0.3% of the contiguous U.S., by 2035. As deployment of solar energy projects continues to increase, having a better understanding of how solar energy infrastructure can impact wildlife and the surrounding environment will help in developing strategies and technologies that can avoid or minimize adverse impacts and maximize benefits.

During the siting and permitting of solar projects, solar developers typically evaluate multiple sites, site designs, and operation strategies. They assess the environmental impacts of their projects by complying with the relevant federal, state, and local laws; soliciting input from regulators; and performing impact assessments and mitigation. Solar developers, regulators, host communities, and other stakeholders have an interest in identifying strategies and tools that both improve the siting and permitting process and ensure healthy surrounding ecosystems. By increasing the number of resources and field-proven strategies available to stakeholders, SETO is improving decision-making and reducing the soft costs, or non-hardware costs, of solar development while balancing impacts to the natural environment.

SETO Research on Solar Energy, Wildlife, and the Environment 

SETO-funded research projects are led by collaborative groups of stakeholders, which may include representatives from the solar industry, communities hosting solar, state and local governments, universities, environmental and conservation non-profits, and the agriculture industry. Through technical assistance programs, SETO also encourages information sharing among stakeholders on the latest tools and methodologies that allow practitioners to deploy solar in an environmentally responsible way. 

SETO research on wildlife and the environment includes a strategic focus on equity and environmental justice principles. SETO recognizes that improving conservation outcomes from large-scale solar development will ensure that natural resources, such as wildlife, can be enjoyed by all communities in the future. Maximizing ecosystem services from solar projects can improve the livelihood of host communities. Research projects engage early and often with stakeholders to align research objectives with the values and needs of underserved communities, implement inclusive hiring practices to ensure diversity within the research teams, and perform educational outreach to encourage participation from underrepresented students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

Research areas of focus:

Wildlife-Solar Interactions 

• Developing technologies and methodologies to better monitor and understand interactions between wildlife, ecosystems, and large-scale solar facilities, including avian species.
• Developing guidance and decision-making tools for implementing solar-pollinator habitat projects on large-scale solar facilities.
• Assessing diversity and abundance of native pollinator insects, birds, and bats associated with co-locating pollinator habitat with large-scale solar facilities.
• Developing technologies and methodologies to better monitor and understand interactions between projects and avian species.

Stormwater Runoff and Water Quality

• Conducting field research to develop and validate a model to predict stormwater infiltration and runoff for a range of site conditions and identify best practices for stormwater management at ground-mounted solar sites.
• Assessing the impacts of floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems on water quality, wildlife activity, and PV performance. 

Soil Health

• Monitoring soil conditions and grassland ecosystem health at solar facilities co-located with pasture-based cattle grazing.
• Quantifying soil health and microclimatic conditions for a range of crops under various solar array designs.

Search the Solar Energy Research Database to learn more about individual SETO-funded projects.

Additional Resources

Learn more about soft costs research, other solar energy research in SETO, and current and former funding programs.

Advantages of Solar Energy

The more we can capture the benefits of solar energy, the less we will rely on fossil fuels. Adding a solar energy system to your home allows you to tap into these solar energy advantages:

1. Solar energy is a renewable energy source and reduces carbon emissions

Solar energy is a renewable energy source, meaning you don’t ever use it up. Solar energy is clean. It creates no carbon emissions or other heat-trapping “greenhouse” gases. It avoids the environmental damage associated with mining or drilling for fossil fuels. Furthermore, solar energy also uses little to no water, unlike power plants that generate electricity using steam turbines.

2. ​​Solar energy can reduce your home’s electricity bill

A solar energy system for your home can reduce your reliance on the grid and help you save on your electricity bill. Some owners of residential solar energy systems may even have excess power that they can sell to the utility. Instead of paying a utility for electricity, homeowners get paid by the utility. You may not have to buy an entire solar energy system to cut your home’s electricity bill. Simply choose solar lights, lights that are powered by the sun instead of your home’s electrical system, to help save money.

3. Solar power can get you money back through Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs)

Some states offer solar renewable energy certificates (SREC). Each one represents a megawatt-hour of electricity generated through solar energy. Electricity suppliers buy these certificates to satisfy their state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, a requirement that a certain amount of their renewable energy come from solar. You can sell SRECs for your system's output, which is another way to earn money from your investment.

4. Homes with solar panels installed may improve home value

Home buyers will likely pay more for a house with solar panels installed. Considering solar energy pros and cons, the savings on electricity bills and the money earned selling power back to the utility, all count in the plus column. Residential solar energy systems are highly valued and can increase a home's resale value. The property value of a home with solar panels can be worth up to $15,000 more than its neighbors.

Solar systems are fairly easy to install and require very little maintenance. Both are handled by your solar provider, if you opt for a solar lease or power purchase agreement (PPA). Consider this as you ask yourself is solar energy worth it.

5. Solar panels have low maintenance costs

Solar panels are easy to maintain, as they have no moving parts that wear out over time. Just keep them clean and in good physical condition to keep them working properly. Between their low maintenance costs and average lifespan of 25 years, it can be easy to get your money’s worth when investing in solar panels.

6. Solar energy can generate electricity in any climate

Solar energy systems can generate electricity in any climate. One of the disadvantages of solar energy is that it’s subject to temporary weather disruption. Cloudy days reduce the amount of electricity you produce. Cold, however, doesn’t affect productivity. Snowfall can actually help your solar system, as the snow cleans the panels as it melts and sun reflected off the snow increases the amount of light hitting your panels. The result is more electricity production.