UK - Solar parks impacts on ecosystem services: implementation

Within the UK, energy underpins all aspects of life, with most people reliant on access to abundant and uninterrupted energy for the provision of basic needs (e.g. heating and cooking), and to enable work (e.g. reliance on information technology) and leisure (e.g. through transport and social media). The production and consumption of energy is currently responsible for ~75% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and thus contributes significantly to climate change. Supplying sufficient energy to meet rising demands whilst also transitioning to low carbon sources to avoid dangerous climate change is a global grand challenge. Within the UK we are reaching a critical juncture in energy supply, with the closure of our coal-fired power plants in 2025 and the planned decommissioning of the majority of our nuclear fleet by 2030. This will leave an energy gap of approximately 50% and insufficient new energy plants are planned.

The capacity of solar photovoltaics (PV) in the UK exponentially increased in response to the Feed-in-Tariff. The majority (58%) of PV systems are ground-mounted as solar parks, with the remainder being building- or water-mounted. Although the Feed-in-Tariff has been cut, solar park installations have continued through other policy measures (e.g. the renewables obligation) and the installation for direct use (i.e. not grid connected) by large energy users (e.g. water companies). Further, industry predicts that the solar park market will accelerate in response to: the cost of large scale solar undercutting nuclear, coal and gas; the UK Government's Industrial Strategy focus on energy cost; the advancement in battery storage (both technological and financial); and the lower public opposition for solar compared to other renewables and hydraulic fracturing, despite the relatively large land take.

One implication of the relatively large land take for solar parks is the impact on the hosting environment. Given that the majority of solar parks are converted from intensively-managed low grade agricultural land to grasslands, this offers an opportunity to deliver co-benefits beyond low carbon energy. Enhanced management of solar parks for would contribute to statutory nature conservation requirements (e.g. conservation of protected species and national biodiversity targets under the Convention on Biological Diversity), help redress the continuing declines in biodiversity that now threaten the UK's ability to meet the Aichi 2020 targets and our commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and enhance the provision of ecosystem services that provide wider societal benefits worth billions per year to the UK economy.

This IFP brings together an interdisciplinary and multi-sector team spanning ecosystem services, renewable energy, land management, planning and policy. Our aim is to embed a decision support tool relating to solar park design and management into policy and practice. The work plan, to be carried out by a partnership of academic researchers and end users, includes: (i) an evaluation of alternative adoption pathways and supporting business models, (ii) workflow testing with end user organisations; (iii) development of a web-enabled version of the tool to enhance functionality; (iv) piloting of the tool in real-world settings; and (v) further engagement with the broader stakeholder community within the UK and overseas.

Who might benefit from this research?
The beneficiaries from this innovation follow-on project will be the solar park industry including businesses and regulators, as well as local authorities and statutory agencies. As stated in the previous section, the five principal direct beneficiaries are solar park developers, asset managers, local planning authorities, ecological consultancies, and operation and maintenance (O&M) companies. There is also a broader range of institutions and organisations which will benefit from the wider implications of enhancing ecosystem service provision on solar parks. Specifically, these include policy-makers and regulators involved directly in managing ecosystem services, such as Defra, the Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales and Natural England, the broader rural sector including agriculture, through enhanced pollination, water quality and nutrient regulation within the agricultural landscape, and wider society, through the enhancement of biodiversity and cultural ecosystem service benefits.

How might they benefit from this research?
Embedding the Solar Park Impacts on Ecosystem Services (SPIES) decision-support tool (DST) in policy and practice will facilitate a step change in how ground-mounted solar parks are designed, constructed and managed for maximum ecosystem benefits. The DST will provide policy adopters such as Local Authorities with a means of implementing National Planning Policy guidelines in an objective manner, and facilitate reporting of actions and contributions towards wider national biodiversity targets at an aggregate level. Moreover, this will be achieved within existing administrative and regulatory planning and development structures and work flows. Further, nature conservation bodies involved in the planning process as statutory consultees will gain from a ready engagement with ecosystem services by developers and asset managers from the outset.

Solar park industry stakeholders will benefit from easy-to-access ecological support and a standardised approach to developing site construction and management plans. Currently, there is a desire to ensure appropriate land management from the majority of the industrial stakeholders, but they lack the relevant knowledge and the financial focus of the industry dissuades them from investing in developing and establishing development and management options within the remit of their businesses.

Nature conservation groups and those tasked with assessing and enhancing the state of ecosystems, including Defra, Natural England, RSPB, will benefit from the standardised inclusion of environmental benefits and a ready means to report the impacts.

Finally, society more broadly will benefit through the increased provision of valuable ecosystem service, which are worth millions to the UK economy every year, alongside the supply of low carbon energy.