Pollinator and wildlife friendly solar is a growing and important subject in the Midwestern US and across the country/globe. We expect to add 2-3 million acres of ground mount solar in the US from 2020-2030 so there is a real opportunity to make those solar fields as environmentally friendly to birds, bees, butterflies and other pollinators.

1. Pollinator & Wildlife Friendly Solar
The good, the bad and the bees | May 6, 2020
Tim Montague, M.S.
NABCEP PV Technical Sales™
Continental Energy Solutions
www.CESnrg.com

2. Learning Objectives
• Understand the difference
between pollinator friendly and
industrial monocrop vegetation
• What is agrivoltaics? How is it
similar and different than
pollinator/wildlife friendly?
• Learn what are the current best
practices for planting and
maintaining pollinator and
wildlife friendly solar farms

3. Learning Objectives (cont.)
• Get a an overview of some
successful projects and case
studies
• What are the challenges and
opportunities for the
renewable energy industries?
• Large vs. small scale project
impacts on the environment

4. Pollinator & Wildlife Friendly Solar
The good, the bad and the bees
• Drivers of solar PV expansion
• Why eco-friendly solar
• Land use considerations
• Best Practices
• Case Studies
• Resources

5. Pollinator & Wildlife Friendly Solar
The good, the bad and the bees
• Drivers of solar PV expansion
• Why eco-friendly solar?
• Land use considerations
• Best Practices
• Case Studies
• Resources

6. North Star Solar | Chisago Co. MN
100 MW AC | 1,000 acres
20,000 homes powered

7. • 13‐15 Gigawatts per year
(13‐15,000 MW; 1 MW = 5 acres)
• 65,000 acres/yr of solar
• 2‐3 million acres 2020‐2030
• 10 M acres = 100% solar powered
• Renewable Portfolio
Standards
• CA – 100% by 2045
• NY – 100% by 2040
• NJ – 50% by 2030
• VA – 100% by 2045
• TX – 10,000 MW by
2025
• IL – 25% by 2025
(3,000+ MW)
• NM – 100% by 2045
• WA – 100% by 2045
• NV – 100% by 2050
• MD – 50% by 2030

8. Prairie Solar | 200 MW DC | 1600 Acres | Champaign Co. IL

11. UofI Solar Farm 5 MW | 20 acres

12. Single Axis Tracker Denver, CO | Misperception of Solar

15. SEIA
https://www.seia.org/research‐resources/major‐solar‐projects‐list

16. Growth of Solar in the US
• 13‐15 Gigawatts per year
(13‐15,000 MW; 1 MW = 5‐7 acres)
• 65,000 acres/yr of solar
• 2‐3 million acres 2020‐2030
• 10‐15 M acres = 100% solar
powered
• Cost has fallen by 90% since 2010
• Renewable Portfolio Standards
• Tax / Cash incentives (ITC | SRECs)

17. Pollinator & Wildlife Friendly Solar
The good, the bad and the bees
• Drivers of solar PV expansion
• Why eco-friendly solar?
• Land use considerations
• Best Practices
• Case Studies
• Resources

19. Though small, insects are at least partially
responsible for pollinating nearly 75 percent
of all crops world‐wide consumed by
humans in their daily diet.

20. • Lower maintenance costs <50%
• Deeper roots = better drainage (x2)
• Less nitrate runoff, loss of topsoil
• Biodiversity = food for bees, wildlife
Benefits of Pollinator Friendly

21. • Lower costs <50%
• Microclimate maintenance= increased
efficiency
• Reduce risk of frost heave of piles
• Aesthetically pleasing
Benefits (to solar) of Pollinator Friendly

22. • Resiliency to variable climate
• Habitat creation
• Microclimate = increased efficiency
• Greater storm water infiltration
• Reduce risk of frost heave of piles
• Improved quality of storm water
runoff
• Lower O&M costs (mowing,
treatment)
• Deters growth of non-native species
• Potential increase in crop yields
• Aesthetically pleasing
Benefits of Pollinator Friendly Solar
5/6/2020 ENGIE Distributed Solar 22

23. Turf Grass
• Kentucky bluegrass or
fescue
Pollinator Seed Mix
• 17‐25 Species
Quantity Botanical Name Common Name
4.0 oz/acre Allium cernuum Nodding wild onion
2.0 oz/acre Anemone cylindrica Thimbleweed
4.0 oz/acre Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly weed
1.0 oz/acre Aquilegia canadensis Wild columbine
40 lb./acre Avena sativa Oats
6 lb/acre Bouteloua curtipendula Side‐oats grama
4.0 oz./acre Carex bicknellii Copper‐shouldered oval sedge
4.0 oz./acre Carex brevior Plains oval sedge
4.0 oz/acre Chamaecrista fasciculata Partridge pea
2.0 oz/acre Coreopsis lanceolata Sand coreopsis
8.0 oz/acre Dalea purpurea Purple prairie clover
1 lb/acre Koeleria macrantha June grass
4.0 oz/acre Monarda punctata Horse mint
4.0 oz/acre Penstemon hirsutus Hairy beard tongue
5 lb/acre Schizachyrium scoparium Little bluestem
4 0 / T d ti hi i C id t
Huff n Huff / GZA: Joliet 2.4 MW | 15 Acre Site

24. Benefits: eco-friendly solar
• Native bees, butterflies,
insects, and birds in decline
• Loss of habitat
• Herbicides / insecticides
• Pathogens

25. • Reduce soil erosion
• Reduce stormwater runoff
• Create wildlife habitat
• Improve resiliency to climate change
Why eco‐friendly solar?

26. • Reduce soil erosion
• Reduce stormwater runoff
• Create wildlife habitat
• Improve resiliency to climate change
Why eco‐friendly solar?

27. Pollinator & Wildlife Friendly Solar
The good, the bad and the bees
• Drivers of solar PV expansion
• Why eco-friendly solar?
• Land use considerations
• Best Practices
• Case Studies
• Resources

28. Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018‐us‐land‐use/

31. 100% Solar = 10 M Acres
0.048% Land Area (lower 48)
8% of land area used for
Livestock feed

32. Pollinator & Wildlife Friendly Solar
The good, the bad and the bees
• Drivers of solar PV expansion
• Why eco-friendly solar?
• Land use considerations
• Best Practices
• Case Studies
• Resources

33. Best Practices
• Use a pollinator scorecard
• Find the right ecological partners
• Panels 30-36” high at the lowest
point
• Selective mowing, chemical
treatment
• Keep cables/conduit below ground

34. • Quality partners / installation &
management contractors
• High quality seeds, mix design
• Start planning early / engage
restoration experts
• Site prep / existing conditions
• System design & detailing
Best Practices
5/6/2020 ENGIE Distributed Solar 34

35. • Practice selective mowing
• Provide easy instructions for
on‐site management teams
• Mowing, safety, system control
Management
”There is No Such Thing as Failure. There are only Results.” – Tony Robbins
5/6/2020 ENGIE Distributed Solar 35

36. Figure 5. After mowing, prior to string trimming.

37. Pollinator Scorecards

38. • 1981 Adolf Goetzberger and Armin
Zastrow
• Germany + Japan are early adopters
• Shade resistant crops
• Studies indicate >30% productivity
gains
• Honey, Strawberries, Hog peanut,
alfalfa, yam, taro, cassava, sweet
potato and lettuce
• Cooling of panels and ground, lower
evapotranspiration, shade
Agrivoltaics | PV + Crops/Livestock

39. NREL

40. Minnesota leads on solar for pollinators and crops

42. NREL: Land Use Planning for Large Scale Solar
https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy19osti/72470.pdf

43. Figure 6. Rotationally grazed with sheep.

44. Pollinator & Wildlife Friendly Solar
The good, the bad and the bees
• Drivers of solar PV expansion
• Why eco-friendly solar? Why now?
• Land use considerations
• Best Practices
• Case Studies
• Resources

45. Whistling Wings Solar Project | New Lisbon, WI
1900 kW DC | 13 acres | 270 homes powered

46. • Understand this is a long term
investment; establishment will take
time
• Each site will be different
Implementation
“Patience is a Virtue” – William Langland
5/6/2020 ENGIE Distributed Solar 46
October 2016
August 2018

47. Solar Honey / Beer!
5/6/2020 ENGIE Distributed Solar 47
October 2016
August 2018

48. Pollinator & Wildlife Friendly Solar
The good, the bad and the bees
• Drivers of solar PV expansion
• Why eco-friendly solar? Why now?
• Land use considerations
• Best Practices
• Case Studies
• Resources

50. MOBILIZING FINANCE FOR LAND CONSERVATION AT THE ENERGY‐
LANDAGRICULTURE NEXUS, Yale Center for Business and
Environment https://cbey.yale.edu/sites/default/files/2019‐
12/MobilizingFinanceforLandConservation_0.pdf
University of Vermont Extension: Pollinator Friendly Solar
Resources
https://www.uvm.edu/extension/agriculture/pollinator-
friendly-solar
Techno–ecological synergies of solar energy for global
sustainability by Rebecca Hernandez et. al. | July 2019 |
Nature Sustainability
Bloomberg Looks at Land Use
https://www.maproomblog.com/2018/08/bloomberg-looks-at-
u-s-land-use/
EPRI - OVERVIEW OF POLLINATOR-FRIENDLY SOLAR
ENERGY | 2019
http://rightofway.erc.uic.edu/wp-
content/uploads/2020/02/000000003002014869.pdf
Examining the Potential for Agricultural Benefits from
Pollinator Habitat at Solar Facilities in the United States
by Lee Walston
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.8b00020
7 Pollinator-Friendly Solar Systems
By Billy Ludt | April 8, 2020 | Solar Power World
https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2020/04/pollinator
-friendly-solar-projects/
Solar arrays abuzz thanks to new pollinator-friendly
vegetation initiative
By Kelsey Misbrener | May 1, 2017 | Solar Power World
https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2017/05/pollinator
-friendly-solar-vegetation/
Fuzz & Buzz seed mix created for solar sites with sheep
grazing and pollinator habitats
By Kelly Pickerel | February 18, 2020 | Solar Power World
https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2020/02/fuzz-
buzz-seed-mix-created-for-solar-sites-with-sheep-grazing-
and-pollinator-habitats/
Pollinators, Climate Change, and Clean Energy
By Dr. Marla Spivak, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe | April 22, 2020
| Fresh Energy | Video
https://youtu.be/XJa6KCh3UcM
Solar & Multi-Use Farming
https://www.seia.org/sites/default/files/2019‐
09/Solar%20Multiuse%20Farming%20Practices%20FactSheet%
202019%20v3.pdf

51. Thank you!
The good, the bad and the bees | May 6, 2020
Tim Montague, M.S.
NABCEP PV Technical Sales™
Continental Energy Solutions
www.CESnrg.com