This series explores the potential of pollinator-friendly solar development in Minnesota and beyond, building on Yale Center for Business and the Environment white papers on the land use benefits of the practice, and strategies for financing it. The first article breaks down the major findings of the white papers; the second captures a developer perspective on pollinator-friendly solar opportunities and challenges; the final article provides a toolkit for practitioners looking to add pollinator habitat to solar projects.
Pollinator-friendly solar / Photo courtesy of Rob Davis, Fresh Energy
Pollinator-friendly solar, which incorporates native grasses and wildflowers throughout a solar installation, is one approach to cultivating additional land use benefits from solar projects. In two new Yale Center for Business and the Environment white papers, we explore the potential of this emerging practice.
Given the promising value proposition of pollinator-friendly solar, several states have passed voluntary standards to encourage the practice, and a number of developers have committed to pollinator-friendly projects for all or part of their portfolios. Illinois-based ENGIE Distributed Solar is one such developer. In this interview. Gavin Meinschein, ENGIE’s lead...
Pollinator-friendly solar is taking off across the country, and with the help of this toolkit, it won’t take long to learn what the buzz is all about. This toolkit is intended for solar developers interested in learning what it takes to turn your next solar project into a pollinators’ paradise.