The shift away from fossil fuels has been accelerated by increasing environmental awareness and concern over global warming. The environment-friendly source of renewable power, solar energy, is well-known. Although the positive effects of solar energy are often more than the negative, they can also have an adverse impact on the environment, including the local wildlife and water supply.
Utility-scale solar plants often make use of equipment that was made from fossil fuels, which emits harmful fumes into the air. They also use water to cool turbine generators. A high use of water strains the water supply in drought areas. Sometimes, solar installations can adversely impact water supply by polluting groundwater. Solar panels can also emit heavy metals into water and air if not properly disposed. Additionally, solar farms can reduce the land cover and affect wildlife.
Apart from indirect environmental impacts, solar energy systems can also affect the land through manufacturing and extraction as well disposal. If built on a forested area, solar facilities can remove vegetation, decimating the number of trees. This is dangerous for endangered species and impacts wildlife.
Solar developers carry out impact assessments and implement mitigation measures to reduce adverse environmental impacts. In addition to evaluating the designs and strategies of sites, they seek input from regulators and host communities to ensure compliance with relevant federal, state, and local laws. They also want to identify healthy ecosystems close to the sites.
SETO is a non-profit organization that coordinates scientific research on the interactions between wildlife and solar energy facilities. SETO facilitates information sharing between stakeholders, in addition to funding projects. These are solar companies, academics and environmental non-profit groups. SETO has created a request-for-information (RFI), to gather responses from stakeholders on solar impacts on wildlife, ecosystems and the environment. In 2021, the SETO RFI summary will outline responses from stakeholders.
SETO is also working to develop design elements that will enable the recycling of PV modules. This is a significant challenge, as the industry is largely unprepared to handle the problem. Insufficient recycling could result from insufficient awareness about the environmental impact of solar panels. A lack of recycling could also mean that there are fewer resources in the future.
SETO is also trying to improve the compatibility between solar development and agricultural landscapes. InSPIRE is an American research project that investigates the compatibility for solar development with agricultural land in the United States.
The AgriSolar Clearinghouse is a public communication hub for agrivoltaics. It also serves as a relationship-building resource for industry and government stakeholders, including universities, the agriculture industry, and environmental non-profits.
The Avian-Solar Multi-Agency Collaborative Working Group consists primarily scientists and other experts from universities and solar companies. It works to assess the solar impact on avian populations. They are committed towards improving the science and understanding of solar energy's impacts on avian communities. SETO also funds research into pollinator habitats.