The Biodiversity Impacts of Solar Power: Balancing Local Harm With Global Benefits
2026 Faculty Research Award
AWARD PERIOD: 2026-2028
Renewable energy initiatives present a positive force for biodiversity globally by helping to mitigate climate change, but at the local scale, solar and wind farms can cause habitat loss. It is unclear whether solar farms have a net positive impact on biodiversity, because prior studies have investigated global and local impacts on biodiversity using different metrics. To simultaneously evaluate the biodiversity impacts of building solar farms both locally and globally, Jonathan Levine, J.N. Allison Professor in Environmental Studies and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Jesse Jenkins, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, will develop a model that estimates the impacts of solar farm locations on local habitat loss and global reductions in climate-related stressors. Then, they will use this model’s findings to simulate solar farm deployment under a range of U.S. energy policy scenarios—from current domestic energy policies to alternatives that would transition the U.S. to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050—and evaluate the resulting biodiversity outcomes. Finally, the team will use their findings to create a free, interactive online dashboard to allow land managers, policymakers and stakeholders to explore the biodiversity consequences of deploying solar panels in different locations and landscapes. By balancing local and global impacts of solar farm placement, this project will help inform renewable energy policies so that they can have the best possible impact.
Participating Departments
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
- Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment
Faculty
