Solar Park Impacts on Ecosystem Services: a Framework for Best-Practice (SPIES)

Ensuring there is sufficient energy is a global challenge, caused by increasing demand and the need to move to low carbon energy to avoid dangerous climate change. Photovoltaics, including those mounted on buildings and the ground, are predicted to provide a key component of energy in the future, with the recent US Clean Power Plan and policies in China and Japan placing particular emphasis on solar power. Further, solar energy is increasingly cost competitive, with large scale solar park costs now similar to that of conventional energy sources.

Within the UK, 47 % of solar photovoltaics are ground-mounted as solar parks. There has been a shift towards ground-mounted solar parks in countries within 35 degrees of the equator and a shift toward large-scale ground-mounted systems in Europe is anticipated. Solar parks take up a relatively large area of land for the energy they produce compared with conventional sources of energy. Yet, despite the expanding land area occupied by solar parks little is known of the impacts of their construction, physical presence and management on the landscape, or how we can use the opportunities provided by this land use transition to bring additional benefits, such as enhanced green infrastructure and ecological connectivity.

Alongside switching to low carbon energy sources, in the light of growing populations and heightened pressures on resources, it is becoming increasingly recognised that we need to protect our environment, since it provides many goods (e.g. crops) and services (e.g. carbon storage) that contribute to the wellbeing and economic prosperity of society. The increasing land cover of solar parks presents an excellent opportunity to maximise the provisioning of such goods and services, with management options relatively low cost compared with those related to solar park construction. Therefore, this project will develop a decision-support tool to assess the impacts of solar parks, including their construction, physical presence and management, on the goods and services the landscape provides. There are five key components:
1. Synthesis of existing solar park guidelines;
2. Production of a compendium of the beneficial and detrimental effects of solar parks on goods and services supplied by the landscape;
3. Quantification of the change in goods and services over the operational life-time of solar parks;
4. Development of a decision-support tool that promotes the optimal deployment and management of solar parks;
5. Dissemination of the outcomes of the project to the broader solar development community.

There are 11 project partners, covering all solar park stakeholders: Christine Coonick, National Solar Centre; Ed Jessamine, Novus Solar; Nick White, Natural England; Jonathan Scurlock, National Farmers Union; Jon Abbatt, ADAS; Richard Winspear, RSPB; Melanie Dodd, Wiltshire Council; Adam Twine, Colleymore Farm; James Ryle, Good Energy; and Phillip Duncan, Corylus.

The key output from the project is the SPIES (Solar Park Impacts on Ecosystem Services) decision-support tool, which will provide a standardised means of identifying the best way to install and manage solar parks. Thus the tool will be useful for developers, consultees and regulatory agencies and may reduce prolonged and expensive planning applications, which will be beneficial to all parties. The National Solar Centre will help us drive the tool into policy which would lead to a noteworthy sustained contribution to sustainable energy generation and the supply of goods and services from the landscape. Further, given the global proliferation of solar parks and the growing global awareness of the importance of our natural environment, the proposed tool could help to stimulate innovation in business and investment opportunities, and build the UK's reputation as a global leader in solar park deployment.

Keywords: solar parks, low carbon energy, ecosystem services, green infrastructure

The outputs of this GIIP will be of benefit to all types of solar park stakeholders. While contrasting viewpoints can exist between them, for example planning officers and developers, discussions during the development of this proposal showed that they are all driven by an ethos to ensure sustainable deployment of solar parks (see letters of support). It is not only the project partners that will benefit but all those involved in the solar park industry as the outputs are designed to be applicable across the UK. Further, given the global spread of solar parks and the growing global concern regarding ES, the outputs may also provide a framework for UK solar park stakeholders operating overseas. Further, given the wellbeing and economic prosperity of society is underpinned by ecosystems, the enhanced ES provision at solar parks will be of benefit to society more broadly. In addition to the specific remit of this project, the project partners will also benefit through interactions with each other and further enhance the connectivity between NERC-funded scientists at Lancaster University and the University of York and science end-users (see letters of support).

We anticipate the following outcomes:
1. Enhancement of ES of solar park GI;
2. Positioning of the decision support tool to enable its inclusion into policy;
3. A motivated multi-sector network driven to ensure that solar parks are optimally deployed and managed for the optimal balance of ES;
4. Enhanced connections and transfer of research between NERC-funded scientists and end-users;
5. Positioning of the UK solar industry at the forefront of solar park deployment and management.

The pathway from innovation through to outputs to outcomes is clear for this project and the co-production of the knowledge base and decision support tool by the key players in the solar industry will ensure the outputs are fit for purpose. The calibre, range and enthusiasm of the partners, along with Solar Power Portal (a trusted online solar media outlet, www.solarpowerportal.co.uk) wishing to run a story on the project, demonstrates the critical need for the project and the likelihood of it becoming embedded in practice. The potential for the decision-support tool to be embedded in the planning process is demonstrated by the Scottish Executive-funded wind farm carbon payback calculator (it has to be completed as part of the planning process for every peatland wind farm). BRE, within which the National Solar Centre is embedded, is a strong proponent of embedding decision-making tools within legislation and will help drive the inclusion of the decision-support tool produced in this GIIP into legislation (see letter of support). This would be an outstanding outcome of this project and lead to noteworthy and sustained NERC science impact generation. This, coupled with the anticipated increase in solar parks, will not only drive the success of this project but enable long-term sustainability, future updates and improvements. Involvement of the National Solar Centre and the Solar Trade Association, as advice centres and industry bodies, will facilitate the longevity of the knowledge base and decision-support tool. Further, given the global proliferation of solar parks and the growing global awareness of the importance of our GI, ES and natural capital resources, the proposed tool could help to build the UK's reputation as a leader in solar park deployment across the world. Finally, it will also identify remaining knowledge gaps to allow both the stakeholder and academic community to target future research and innovation efforts.