The report, entitled "Rewarding and incentivizing nature-inclusive solar energy through EU policies," makes a series of recommendations at EU level to simultaneously encourage the installation of new solar power capacity and mitigate environmental damage.

The report begins with a definition of "nature-inclusive solar," meaning that the construction of a photovoltaic plant includes the completion of environmental and biodiversity assessments, the creation of local biodiversity habitats, and ongoing site management over the life of the project.

Existing terms such as "biodiversity-friendly" or "nature-positive" are vague and open to interpretation, according to the report. Clarifying this definition is therefore one of the report's key policy recommendations. Among other recommendations, the report calls on the EU and member States to "create an enabling environment" for the deployment of nature-inclusive solar plants through policies, incorporating these policies into local legal frameworks and spatial planning, and continuing nature-inclusive PV research in the future.

Lina Dubina, sustainability Policy Advisor at SolarPower Europe, said: "The Nature Conservancy and SolarPower Europe are calling for a coherent EU-wide policy framework to define nature-inclusive solar in line with existing EU policies. "Such a framework could simplify and standardise practices across the EU, making nature-friendly solar plants more widespread and effective."

Based on effective policies

The report notes that Europe already has a number of policies in place to help deploy nature-inclusive PV, such as the EU's Natural Restoration Act (NRL), which came into force in August. The law requires member States to implement environmental restoration measures in at least 20% of the EU's land and Marine areas by 2030.

SolarPower

Europe and the Nature Conservancy

Conservancy believes that land used for nature-inclusive solar farms is eligible for restoration because such solar projects have the potential to help restore pollinator populations and support biodiversity monitoring over time.

The report also notes that widespread deployment of nature-inclusive solar projects can change the way people think about solar projects and biodiversity initiatives. The study assumes that nature-friendly PV projects refer to land primarily used for solar projects, where biodiversity conservation is an important but secondary consideration.

On land where nature conservation is a "primary purpose", local solar farms could be considered a means of funding these conservation projects under legislation such as the NRL, the report argues.

It is important to note that the restoration of land through solar projects does not necessarily mean that the majority of land in the EU needs to be used for solar development. According to the European Environment Agency, current and future solar projects require only 0.3% of the EU's total land area, and installing solar and wind projects on 2.2% of the EU's land area would be enough to meet the net-zero emissions target by 2040.

Prior to this, reports have been particularly encouraging in the field of agricultural photovoltaics, a mature industry that combines solar deployment with environmental and agricultural management. According to energy think tank Ember, Central Europe alone could deploy up to 180GW of agricultural PV, which would nearly triple the region's annual renewable energy generation.trina solar panels