Dr. Tara Reale:

Some equipment manufacturers are now giving up to 40 years for the lifetime of a panel.

On land use, solar farms typically have small steel pile foundations that are approximately 1.5 m to 2 m down and are very easily removed when the project is over. When the land is not intensively farmed for agricultural use and is, in effect, allowed to rest, the soil often regenerates. We have seen in our UK pipeline a major biodiversity net gain simply by the inclusion of more habitats, in addition to the species-rich grass defined by the engineering, procurement and construction, EPC, contractor during the construction process. We have seen net biodiversity gains of between 50% and 150% over the 40 years. The land is in pretty good condition at the end of the lifespan of a panel.