Biodiversity is an all-encompassing term that captures the entire variety of life in the world or in a particular ecosystem. Studies have now shown that solar farms positively affect the biodiversity around them. This opens up all new opportunities for integrating solar arrays into large patches of land without interfering with local wildlife.
The Environmental Impact of Solar Panel Farms Is a Positive One
Everyone already has a decent understanding of how solar energy reduces electricity bills and helps the environment by reducing carbon emissions. In fact, the only pollution traceable from solar power is from the manufacturing process. Once installed, solar panels and arrays contribute no emissions or pollution. As renewable energies go, it is one of the cleanest in an already clean energy market.
Curious about where solar technology is going next? Click through and discover more about all the ways solar energy is going to change the future.
One interaction of solar energy and the environment that is rarely talked about is its influence on an ecosystem’s biodiversity. The global biosphere is an amazing place with nearly too much diversity to classify and track.
So, let’s just talk about local biodiversity: meadows, grazing lands, or fields of crops. How would solar farms interact with these other types of farming? The answer is, extremely well. Solar farms can boost biodiversity and increase the health of a number of species.
Solar Energy Is Fighting Climate Change
We’ve already seen that the implementation of solar energy has a slackening effect on the fallout from global warming. Solar arrays and solar farms are eliminating tons of carbon emissions all over the planet. It also capitalizes on the large areas of unused land, transforming them into an extension of the power grid without unsightly industrial facilities or generating more pollution to create the electricity we need. New studies show that properly integrated solar farms encourage the life and diversity of species like broad-leaved plants, butterflies, bumblebees, birds, and other natural occurring species.
Integrating Energy Sources Into Nature and Farming
In the past, fossil fuels and nuclear power required wide swaths of land to build their energy generation facilities. This meant sacrificing useful real estate to the people’s need for power. Today, with solar power, we no longer need to make that sacrifice. With proper planning, solar farms are easily integrated into crop lands and grazing meadows. O3 Energy is here to help develop solar farms that allow for grazing animals and don’t interrupt the natural life of meadows or crop lands.
Weighing Solar Farms Pros and Cons Isn’t Much of a Competition
What are the cons of solar farms? Well, in the past, uninformed people thought they knew what might be bad about them. They might have said, “I know the sun’s energy is renewable and will never run out, but what about the pollution generated from solar energy production?” As we stated above, solar arrays and panels have nearly no emissions or pollution associated with producing electricity.
When talking about solar farms, they might have asked, “Yeah solar energy is clean and simple to maintain, but won’t these big farms of solar arrays hurt the livelihood of surrounding animals and crop lands?” All evidence actually points in the opposite direction of that criticism now.
By supporting species like pollinating insects, solar farms will positively impact the health of all surrounding crops like cereals, vegetables, and fruit orchards. We depend on those insects for pollination and growth, now we can encourage their health and longevity by investing in solar technology.
The Environmental Impact of Solar Farms
“Without biodiversity, there is no future for humanity,”- Prof. David Macdonald, Oxford University.
As the most intelligent beings on the planet, it is our responsibility to care for it as best we can. Thanks to the advancement of solar technology, it has never been easier to be environmentally friendly. The true power of solar energy comes from our decisions.
Making the choice to install solar over conventional energy sources helps everyone around you, including the bumblebees. The world won’t survive without biodiversity and by investing in solar power, you are doing your part for the future of the world. To learn more about solar farms and the positive environmental impact of solar energy, contact O3 Energy today.
.
