Solar Habitat 2025 is the UK’s most comprehensive ecological study of solar farms, offering new insight into how solar energy and nature can thrive side by side.

Drawing on data from 124 solar sites across the country, the report explores how well-managed solar farms are becoming important habitats for wildlife. From wildflowers and hedgerows to butterflies, birds, and mammals, the findings show that solar farms, when designed and maintained with biodiversity in mind, can make a meaningful contribution to nature recovery.

This third edition of the Solar Habitat series tracks ecological trends over time, highlighting best practices in land management, monitoring, and habitat creation. It also features case studies and innovations from across the sector, offering practical guidance for developers, landowners, and decision-makers.

📥 Download the full report to explore the data, stories, and recommendations shaping the future of solar land use in the UK.

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Did you know that 53% of people believe solar farms can actually improve local biodiversity? Or that access to the national grid is the primary factor in solar farm locations—a fact only 10% of respondents were aware of?

These are just some of the insights revealed in “2025 – Support Continues to Grow for Solar”, a new report developed by Solar Energy UK in partnership with Copper Consultancy. Based on a nationally representative survey of over 2,000 adults, the findings show a clear and growing shift in public support for solar farms and their role in delivering clean, affordable energy.

The report explores how solar energy is transforming local communities through:

• Affordable energy solutions
• Clean power generation
• Potential biodiversity improvements
• Strategic development opportunities

Whether you’re a developer, community leader, policymaker, or engaged citizen, this report offers essential insights into public perception that can shape better solar projects, more informed policy, and stronger community engagement strategies.

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As stewards of the countryside, the agricultural sector has shaped our rural environment and communities for generations. UK farms have long been intrinsic to the nation’s food security and today, they are also on the front line of tackling wider issues such as biodiversity, environmental protection and global warming.

However, a series of geo-political crises and uncertainties – inflation, the war in Ukraine, extreme weather and the Pandemic – have created unprecedented challenges for UK farmers. Heavy rainfall and cool summer temperatures have exacerbated an already precarious situation this year, delivering a low yielding harvest, made worse by economic instability and escalating costs. On the ground, these conditions have made it challenging to even get tractors and livestock into waterlogged fields. As a result, we have seen the culmination of a “perfect storm” of crises, which are pushing farm margins to the brink and putting up prices for everyday staples, such as bread.

This Farming Sustainably Report builds on SEUK’s Farming Factsheet, produced with the assistance of Dr Jonathan Scurlock, NFU Chief Adviser on Renewable Energy and Climate Change, which stressed solar farms “do not in any way present a risk to the UK’s food security,” contrary to false and misleading claims in the media and even those expressed in parliament.

Solar Energy UK Member Author:

Jake Setterfield, Senior Account Director, Meeting Place

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In an era where the race for clean, secure, and affordable energy is paramount, the Solar and Energy Storage Manifesto sets forth a vision to transition the United Kingdom towards a sustainable energy future. With insights from Chris Hewett, Chief Executive of Solar Energy UK, this manifesto underscores the critical importance of renewable energy in tackling the climate crisis, reducing dependency on fossil fuels, and fostering economic growth.

As public support for environmental action remains strong amidst rising energy costs and a cost-of-living crisis, the manifesto calls on the next government to lead with clear ambition. By 2030, the UK must scale up to 50GW of solar and 30GW of zero-carbon energy storage to meet climate targets and ensure energy security.

The manifesto outlines five pivotal actions to empower the solar and energy storage industries:

1. Embrace UK Solar.
2. Bring the benefits of solar and storage to new homes.
3. Turbo-charge the network for net zero.
4. Build skills for British green jobs.
5. Implement a renewables-first approach to market reform.

Join us in advocating for a renewable energy future that brings down energy bills, creates jobs, and invigorates the UK economy.

Together, we can light the way to a greener, more sustainable tomorrow.

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Monitoring solar farms across the UK has needed more consistency for too long, hindering our ability to draw meaningful comparisons between sites. In response to this challenge, Solar Energy UK, in collaboration with Lancaster University, Clarkson & Woods, and Wychwood Biodiversity, spearheaded the introduction of a standardised approach to biodiversity monitoring on solar farms.

This pioneering standardisation initiative has transformed data collection practices and paved the way for a more comprehensive understanding of ecological trends within solar farm environments. It’s a significant step forward in our collective efforts to manage solar farms effectively.

The inaugural Solar Habitat report, published in May 2023, marked a pivotal moment in our journey. It shed light on ecological trends across 37 meticulously monitored sites in 2022. Building upon this foundation, our latest report continues this crucial work, collating data from 87 sites surveyed throughout 2023.

The substantial increase in data collection in this year’s report strengthens our ability to discern trends between management approaches and biodiversity. From botany to invertebrates, birds, and mammals, our structured surveys and incidental observations reveal the complex relationships shaping biodiversity within solar farms.

While direct year-on-year comparisons are limited, accumulating data over time promises to illuminate temporal trends, management impacts, and changes in biodiversity as sites mature. With periodic reviews to refine our standardised methodology, our reports are indispensable tools for site managers, policymakers, ecologists, and local authorities in effective solar farm management.

Despite representing a mere 6% of the 1,400 solar farms operating in the UK, the 87 sites surveyed in 2023 provide a vital glimpse into the broader ecological landscape. As demand for monitoring grows, so will the number of sites and contributing ecological consultancies, fueling our quest for a deeper understanding of biodiversity on solar farms.

The post Solar Habitat 2024: Ecological Trends on Solar Farms in the UK appeared first on Solar Energy UK.

A study of public attitudes to solar development

“As more projects come forward and the energy transition accelerates, we can expect public attitudes to shift. A higher quantity of larger-scale projects comes with many opportunities for greening the UK economy and electricity network. However, this is also coupled with concern amongst communities about their local landscapes changing.

For solar to play the role it must in achieving net zero by 2050, it’s key we understand public perceptions”. – Chris Hewett, CEO at Solar Energy UK.

Solar farms are popular, and they are a crucial part of the country’s net zero ambitions. The following research by Copper Consultancy, highlights that over 42% of people living near an existing, proposed or under-construction solar farm strongly support the sector’s development.

In contrast, the study found that less than 1% said they were strongly opposed and 94% had either supportive or at least neutral attitudes to the sector. Overall, local solar farms have also become more popular over time.

The need for accelerated solar development is clear, and this report demonstrates that many misconceptions about solar are unfounded. If the Government are to make good on their commitment to net zero by 2050, increased development of solar must be a top priority.

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Ecological monitoring over the last decade has shown that well-designed and well-managed solar farms have the potential to influence ecology and make significant contributions to addressing biodiversity loss in the UK. However, much remains to be learnt about the relationship between the management of solar farms and the species and habitats they harbour. Of particular interest is how these relationships change over time. Until recently, monitoring of solar farms has not been applied consistently across the UK, and this has made comparisons between sites difficult.

To address this, in 2022, Solar Energy UK, Clarkson & Woods, Wychwood Biodiversity and Lancaster University published a standardised approach to ecological monitoring on solar farms, providing a uniform approach to how the solar industry collects ecological monitoring data on solar sites. This allows for the amalgamation of data, forming a robust, credible evidence base showing the ecological trends on solar farms.

This pilot report outlines results from 37 operational solar sites surveyed in 2022 across the UK. These sites range in age, geography, and output. The report highlights solar farms’ positive relationships with ecology, focusing on botany, invertebrates, mammals and birds.

To adopt a standardised approach to ecological monitoring on solar farms, you can collect ecological data with our standardised methodology.

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As part of ‘Energy Security Day’, the Government released a suite of documents mapping out their proposals to strengthen energy security and independence as part of the UK’s mission to achieve net zero by 2050. 

The central ‘Powering Up Britain’ paper says that solar energy has huge potential to help decarbonise the power sector. The accompanying Energy Security Plan re-stated and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to 70GW by 2035, with the announcement of a ‘solar taskforce’, designed to enable the delivery of the solar target further and publish a solar road map in 2024.

Solar Energy UK has developed a high-level analysis of the central documents (Powering up Britain – Main Summary, Powering up Britain – Net Zero Growth Plan and Powering up Britain – Energy Security Plan) – See the document below. 

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COMING MAY 2025

Ecological monitoring of solar farms plays an important role in assessing change, identifying management issues, and ensuring planning obligations are met. It also provides us with valuable data to explore the impacts that solar farm developments are having on our environment; this will become increasingly important as more and larger solar arrays are constructed to meet our energy requirements and climate change commitments.

The approach to ecological monitoring varies greatly and this makes it difficult to pool data in order to look at the national picture. Therefore, a collaboration was formed between Solar Energy UK, Clarkson & Woods, Wychwood Biodiversity and Lancaster University to devise a standardised approach. This will ensure that asset owners are obtaining the same standard of information and also allows for amalgamation of information, where asset owners are willing to do this. Solar Energy UK will be using this information annually to publish a UK wide report with detailed analyses of ecological trends on solar farms across the UK. It will provide the industry with important information on the biodiversity impacts of solar farms, as well as a knowledge base to inform management practice.

COMING MAY 2025

The post A Standardised Approach to Monitoring Biodiversity – 2025 appeared first on Solar Energy UK.

Ecological monitoring of solar farms plays an important role in assessing change, identifying management issues, and ensuring planning obligations are met. It also provides us with valuable data to explore the impacts that solar farm developments are having on our environment; this will become increasingly important as more and larger solar arrays are constructed to meet our energy requirements and climate change commitments.

The approach to ecological monitoring varies greatly and this makes it difficult to pool data in order to look at the national picture. Therefore, a collaboration was formed between Solar Energy UK, Clarkson & Woods, Wychwood Biodiversity and Lancaster University to devise a standardised approach. This will ensure that asset owners are obtaining the same standard of information and also allows for amalgamation of information, where asset owners are willing to do this. Solar Energy UK will be using this information annually to publish a UK wide report with detailed analyses of ecological trends on solar farms across the UK. It will provide the industry with important information on the biodiversity impacts of solar farms, as well as a knowledge base to inform management practice.

The post A Standardised Approach to Monitoring Biodiversity appeared first on Solar Energy UK.