Renewable energy

Solar farms

Solar farms are becoming an increasingly important part of the transition to renewable energy. Waardenburg Ecology studies the impacts of solar farms on wildlife and identifies practical and innovative solutions for wildlife-friendly solar farms.

We support developers of solar farms in every step of the process from site selection through to decommissioning. Site selection, construction, operation and maintenance regimes can all have impacts on wildlife and may affect the feasibility of a development. Waardenburg Ecology advises on potential ecological issues and identifies ways to minimise and mitigate impacts.

Design

For solar farm developments, we look for win-win situations by designing steps to increase benefits to wildlife through minimising impacts and identifying areas where new wildlife can thrive. This may include wildlife-friendly banks or seeding native flower mixes between the solar panels. By considering the existing ecological values at an early stage we find opportunities for biodiversity enhancement and find feasible solutions that fit with the surrounding landscape.

Monitoring

After construction we study the effectiveness of any measures through monitoring programmes. These may include the effectiveness of various mowing regimes or the monitoring of certain species. This information is used to refine any management measures and further improve the benefits for wildlife.