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D.K. MacKinnon 🇨🇦📸🍁@dkmackinnon@ottawa.place (2026-08-16 21:37:48)
Solar Farms Are Having An Unexpected Effect On The Environment
"Researchers with the Argonne National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (via IOPScience) [...] found that retired agricultural land can produce power while native plants thrive under and around the panels. They quickly saw an increase in the abundance and diversity of native plants and insects, especially pollinators. It's already known that solar panels are having a surprising effect on local wildlife."
Source: https://www.bgr.com/2233665/solar-farms-unexpected-ecosystem-benefits-growth/
https://flip.it/N..F.9
---Reply---
Su_G@Su_G@aus.social (2026-08-16 22:50:58)
@dkmackinnon
Fascinating how quickly substantial outcomes were gained: “This study shows just how fast the benefits can come to life. At these two sites, it took under four years for functioning habitat to return. The biggest resurgence was native bees. Around year two, plants began to mature, and that's when nature took off because hundreds of native bees returned to the land. In early surveys, scientists recorded almost no bees, but by year four, they saw them regularly. Other insects as well, including wasps, moths, flies, butterflies, and beetles. In fact, the number of insects surveyed tripled over five years.”
Read More: https://www.bgr.com/2233665/solar-farms-unexpected-ecosystem-benefits-growth/
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