Bees and other insects pollinate nearly 75 percent of all crops consumed by humans, but as pesticide use, land development and other anthropogenic stressors increase, these agricultural aids are losing habitat and suffering population declines. Researchers from U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are investigating the prospects for establishing new pollinator habitat at large-scale solar facilities.

An assessment of over 2,800 existing and planned utility-scale solar systems in the contiguous U.S. (see interactive map) suggests that the environments around solar panels could offer ideal sites for plants that attract these insects. By increasing the ability of bees and butterflies to pollinate adjacent fields, solar-sited pollinator habitat may boost crop yields in agricultural regions.

Over 3,500 square kilometers of agricultural land near existing and planned solar facilities could benefit from the establishment of native plant species, such as prairie grass or wildflowers, which are prevalent pollinator habitats.

Soybeans, almonds and cranberries depend on insect pollinators for their annual crop yields. If all existing and planned solar facilities near these crop types included pollinator habitat and increased yield by just one percent, crop values could rise $1.75 million, $4 million and $233,000 for soybeans, almonds and cranberries, respectively.

The economic and sustainability benefits of such ecosystem restoration are detailed in Environmental Science & Technology.

Source: Argonne National Laboratory