A UK modelling study of 1,042 solar farms finds that replacing turf with wildflower patches on-site could more than double local bumblebee numbers, though surrounding foraging habitat remains the dominant factor shaping populations. Researchers combined a process-based pollinator model with GIS and tested outcomes under sustainable, fossil-fuel dependent and middle-of-the-road futures. A sustainable, multifunctional approach to farmland — hosting solar arrays while supporting biodiversity — could deliver energy, environmental and community benefits, but solar sites alone cannot reverse large-scale habitat loss.
UK Study: Wildflower Management Could More Than Double Bumblebees on Solar Farms
Dec 11
As nations accelerate decarbonization, solar farms are proliferating — raising concerns about the biodiversity costs of taking more land out of food or natural uses. A new UK study suggests a simple change in how solar sites are managed could turn many of them into valuable refuges for bumblebees.
Study and Method
Researchers from the U.K. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster University and the University of Reading combined a process-based pollinator model with Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping to assess Britain’s 1,042 existing solar farms. The team downscaled national land-use futures to resolutions relevant to bumblebees, added key landscape elements for pollinators, and modelled outcomes under three socioeconomic pathways: a sustainable future, a high fossil-fuel ("dirty energy") future, and a middle-of-the-road scenario.
Key Findings
The analysis shows that replacing plain turf with wildflower patches on solar sites could more than double bumblebee numbers locally. However, the researchers emphasise that on-site improvements have limits: the amount and quality of foraging habitat in the surrounding landscape exert a stronger influence on regional bumblebee populations than management at a single site.
Dr. Hollie Blaydes, a co-author, said: "We downscaled land-use futures to a bumblebee-relevant resolution, added important landscape features and combined the maps with a pollinator model. The level of spatial detail in this modelling is unusual and was particularly novel in our work."
Implications for Land Use and Policy
Across all modelled futures, the study predicts a decline in agricultural land around solar farms driven by urban expansion and dietary shifts. In the authors' sustainable scenario, however, agricultural land is treated as multifunctional: it can produce food and livestock while hosting solar arrays and supporting biodiversity.
Co-locating solar generation with habitat-friendly management could conserve natural resources, lower local energy bills, provide extra income for small farmers, and reduce pollution-related health impacts in nearby communities. Still, the paper cautions that solar farms alone cannot fully offset broader habitat losses — coordinated landscape-scale planning and incentives are needed.
Takeaway
Managed smartly, solar farms offer a practical opportunity to boost pollinator habitat at scale. But maximizing benefits will require policies and incentives that expand foraging habitat beyond site boundaries and integrate energy, agriculture and conservation planning.
