Fifteen Dutch solar farms quietly turned their fenced panel fields into very different kinds of wildlife real estate, with hedgehogs and hares treating them as refuges while roe deer slipped through mainly as calm daytime commuting corridors

Changing land use from agriculture to solar energy generation is often slammed as the reason why greenfield sites become industrial deserts. 

However, 15 Netherlands solar installations were studied over two years, and the results point to a very different reality. The fields of panels were compared to dairy pastures and meadows left to grow wild in their natural state. They actually provide sanctuary for medium-sized farm mammals with shelter, reduced human disturbance, and some ecological benefits.

How camera traps proved unexpected mammal preferences

Two monitoring seasons saw researchers deploying motion-activated cameras across 15 solar farms, intensive dairy pastures, and natural meadows untouched by infrastructure. The target of the camera images was any mammal over 1.1 pounds. These were recorded without turning to bait food, and locations were changed monthly to avoid microhabitat bias in the data.

There were seven core species recorded. Four of these visited the solar arrays far more often than the farmland. European hares and hedgehogs liked the industrial zones the most, entering the solar fields more frequently than the control areas throughout the year.

Deer used the solar farms differently but still regularly. In the daytime, they passed between the panels as they moved between nocturnal feeding grounds and their bedding cover.

Pastures used for grazing for dairy farming are subjected to heavy machinery, livestock grazing, and applications of slurry. But fields used for producing solar power are only visited by humans a few times a year for maintenance. Small prey are able to use the overhead panels as shelter from aerial predators, and gaps under perimeter fencing allow small species to get in and out of the protected area.

Landscape and predator dynamics affecting wildlife numbers in solar farms

Not all species of wildlife benefited from the solar development. Red foxes and European badgers, which are predatory mammals, did not visit the solar arrays as frequently. They favored the natural meadows under conservation. Badgers, specifically, were only recorded at 33 percent of the monitored solar sites, but the figures were 46 percent of the meadows and 60 percent of the dairy pastures. 

When the statistics were modeled, they showed that the composition of the landscape is behind 14.7 percent of overall mammal distribution across all the study sites. While the richness of species inside the solar farm was the same as the grassland control areas, the distribution was less even. The animals inside the industrial perimeters were dominated by highly adaptable species.

We now know that solar installations function as secondary habitats with functions that complement normal wildlife activities. They are not replacing native reserves. 

Animal access depends on site design. Security fencing can block larger animals but also have permeable sections to serve as transit corridors for deer and small mammals.

Basic engineering consideration for ecological benefits

The point of building solar farms is to maximize clean energy generation. It is not wildlife conservation. However, with the exclusion of heavy equipment, grazing livestock, and chemical treatments, degraded agricultural land can become a refuge for wildlife. 

There are various simple, low-cost engineering choices that can significantly boost ecological benefits in energy development. By not using harsh chemicals as herbicides between the rows, varied vegetation can thrive, which supports insect populations as a food source.

It is not about growing populations

Crucially, higher camera detection proved higher event frequency and site use rather than net regional population growth, meaning solar fields supplement rather than replace primary conservation lands. Across two monitoring seasons in the Netherlands, researchers demonstrated that thoughtful site design transforms utility infrastructure into functional ecological assets without hindering clean energy production.

The study concludes that pairing permeable infrastructure with smart vegetation management enables ground solar arrays to generate renewable power while providing vital refuge for farmland mammals across agricultural landscapes.

All the details of the study can be found here: Tavernier, C., de Vries, S., Buij, R. et al. Implications for mammal presence and diversity of solar panel fields in agricultural landscapes. Landsc Ecol 41, 70 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-026-02320-3