Solar Parks and Their Impacts on the Environment

At COP21 in Paris last year, 195 countries agreed to cap Global Warming. They set the target of lowering global temperatures by 2 degrees celsius. This has coincided with the growth of the solar power industry, which has experienced a large increase in revenue from US$69 million in 2010 to US$188.6 million in 2015 in the United States (statista.com). Solar power leads the way for the clean energy industry, as shown by the growth of solar parks in the US, UK, India, China, Australia and more. However, as Solar energy sources have a low energy density of just 1.5 microjoules per cubic metre(twenty quadrillion times less than oil), these solar parks take up a lot of space and affect agricultural land use. Governments have attempted to reduce these issues by ensuring that these parks are only constructed on low-yielding/low-grade farmland.

However, a year-long study conducted by Lancaster University in the UK has provided some insight into the possible effects of solar parks on the environment.  Solar parks are usually constructed on agricultural land, which is why this study could be a breakthrough for the concept. Wind farms which is the same idea in principle, showed changes in the micro-climate in terms of temperature, humidity levels and also the carbon dioxide concentration in the air. Solar panels are expected to have effects on light and shading. Whether this affects the carbon-storing capabilities of soil is currently unknown. If the panels do affect the soil, it could have major implications on the carbon cycle especially because these farms are large projects that span several squared kilometres. Perhaps it could even reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released by soil which would make solar parks a viable method to mitigate the effects of global warming.

For now, there needs to be more research about the relationships between solar parks and soil so that large investments are not misguided and that the implications of the micro climate of an area is not drastically altered as a result of these parks.