The Anonymous Widower

Solar Farms And Biodiversity

I have an old farmer friend, who told me this tale.

His neighbour put up a few acres of solar panels on a field, that adjoins one of his fields, where it generally grows cereal crops.

He told me that he felt he was seeing more hares on his land and wrote to me asking if it could be the solar panels.

I searched the Internet and couldn’t find anything at the time.

But, it should be remembered, that hares have an unusual way of bringing up their leverets, where the mothers generally abandon them during the day and feed them in the evening.

We did wonder, if the solar panels offered protection to the leverets from aerial predators. And the mothers were learning that solar panels were a safer place.

This morning someone made a comment about solar panels on a page in The Times and I searched again.

I found this article on the Solar Power Portal, which is entitled Solar Farms And Biodiversity and thoroughly read it.

It doesn’t say much about hares, but it puts a strong case, that solar panels can increase biodiversity.

February 13, 2023 - Posted by AnonW | Energy | Biodiversity, Farming, Hares, Solar Power, Wildlife