Up to 280,000 hectares could be used for ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) plants by 2040, depending on political and technical developments. This will mainly involve the use of arable land, most of which will be converted into grassland. However, there is currently a lack of reliable scientific evidence regarding the effects of this land-use change on species in open landscapes that are relevant to planning.
Although various studies of individual solar parks already exist, the results do not yet allow for a clear assessment. This is particularly evident in the case of the skylark (Alauda arvensis). Whilst the skylark population has declined sharply in some of the solar farms studied, other studies have found the sites to be suitable habitats for this species, particularly at the edges and in open areas. Systematic and statistically robust analyses of larger datasets are currently lacking.
Expert report: Conditions for settlement are being investigated
The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) is seeking to clarify, through an ongoing expert report, under what conditions solar parks may be suitable habitats for certain species (or groups of species) relevant to planning, such as birds, bats, the sand lizard or the European hamster. The report is to be based on as broad a data set as possible from field studies and take into account various solar park parameters such as size, age, design and maintenance. The aim is to use statistically validated methods to determine which plant parameters are decisive for habitat suitability.
Your solar farm data helps to advance our understanding
A broad data set is essential for reliable results, and the authors of the report are therefore seeking further suitable data.
The following field data on birds, bats, sand lizards and European hamsters are relevant to the report:
- Monitoring reports following the construction of the plant (ideally covering several years) as well as
- field surveys conducted prior to the construction of the plant (e.g. species conservation reports)
If you have any data available, we would be very grateful for your support in providing it.
The results will be published anonymously; it will not be possible to identify individual solar parks.
If you are able to support the project with data, please contact us by email by the end of May 2026 at: Jeremias Kempt, Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Research Associate, Division II 4.3 ‘Nature Conservation and Renewable Energies’, Jeremias.Kempt@BfN.de
The results are scheduled to be published in early 2027. The report is being prepared by the Freiburg Institute for Applied Animal Ecology (FrINat, https://www.frinat.de/).