Little is known about solar parks’ impact on plants, soil and climate. A better approach to research could idenitfy risks and develop new solar parks that provide environmental benefits
What might be considered one of the greenest energy sources with the highest potential – solar parks – pose new environmental questions, potential threats and untapped benefits.
The construction of solar photovoltaics (PV) is growing at an unprecedented rate globally, expanding by 50% per year over the last decade, reaching almost 100 terawatt-hours (twh) in 2012. The growth is set to continue with the European Photovoltaic Industry Association predicting that solar PV could provide between 7% and 11% of European electricity demand by 2030 and the International Energy Association that 690GW capacity will be installed across the world by 2035.