Solar farms could double as pollinator food supplies

Pollinator habitats and solar farms may seem like ecologically great neighbors, but we still don't understand very much about that relationship.

A team of researchers recently published a paper surveying the ins and outs of keeping solar production alongside the kinds of plants that pollinators like bees and butterflies love.

There's also a PR element for the companies involved.

In or near rural areas, an increase in pollinators may be beneficial to crops.

There are some caveats, however.

For example, converting previously wild areas into solar farms, even with pollinator habitats attached, could potentially do more harm than good.

Developers would need to take into account the different growing schedules of the plants—if you only plant species that bloom in June, for example, some pollinator species would not have food for the rest of the summer.

Environmental Entomology, 2021.