Pollinator Guidelines for Solar Developers
Solar power is a growing business promising clean energy and development for a rural economy. But solar installations can be much more. By planting a compatible, diverse mix of flowers and grasses we can also create habitat for wildlife. To facilitate the creation of pollinator-friendly solar installations, universities, states, and non-profit organizations have teamed up to create meaningful guidelines.
Our team at the University of Wisconsin – Madison has developed an easy-to-use guide for best-management practices appropriate for Wisconsin.
The guide we provide is aimed at improving pollinator habitat by:
- Increasing the abundance and diversity of flowering plants in the landscape.
- Minimizing pesticide exposure to pollinators.
- Providing a system to evaluate the establishment and development of high-quality pollinator habitat
About this program
Welcome!
Thank you for your interest in pollinator-friendly solar. The following documents are intended to provide best-practice guidelines for vegetation management companies and civil engineers working on solar arrays, as well as a resource for citizens and policy makers that seek a common evaluation method for what constitutes “pollinator-friendly” in the context of a solar array.
One of the driving factors in pollinator declines is loss of flowers in the landscape due to changing land-use practices. Wisconsin is home to approximately 500 species of wild bees that rely on flower-rich environments.
Our Philosophy:
The best way to protect pollinators is by establishing diverse plantings of mostly native plants that provide continuous flowers throughout the growing season and are free from pesticides. Creating more pollinator-friendly habitat within the landscape will provide high quality resources that encourage and support pollinator populations in Wisconsin.
In keeping with the values of Wisconsin’s agricultural communities, many of the early ground-based solar arrays developed in Wisconsin were created with careful consideration of the soil, water, and pollinators that are critical to agriculture. We are encouraged by these early adopters and hope that you will follow their lead.
This program was developed by our research team at the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Entomology, lead by Hannah Gaines-Day, Olivia Bernauer and Claudio Gratton. Our partners at Fresh Energy (Rob Davis) and Renew Wisconsin (Tyler Huebner) helped initiate this project and connected us with others states who have developed similar programs.
Getting started
Step 1: Contact a vegetation management company
The role of the vegetation management company in this process is to provide the necessary technical assistance when designing, planting, and maintaining high-quality pollinator habitat that is compatible with a ground-based solar array installation. The vegetation management companies listed on this site have the experience and capability of installing and managing large-scale pollinator plantings.
Step 2: Write an Establishment Plan
Once you’ve partnered with a vegetation management company, the next step is for the vegetation management company to write the Establishment Plan. The Establishment Plan will document the site preparation, seed mix content, and management strategies used to maintain high-quality pollinator habitat within your solar array.
Step 3: Establish pollinator habitat following your establishment plan.
Work with professional habitat management companies to have your sites established and managed as pollinator-friendly habitat on the installation.
Step 4: Seasonal Assessments
In the year after the pollinator-friendly habitat has been installed, complete the Seasonal Assessments. These are self-assessments and should be completed three times per year (once per season) in the Spring, Summer, and Fall by the vegetation management company. Seasonal Assessments should be conducted on an annual basis to assess the success of the planting.
