Solar Installation Can Provide Meaningful Habitat

by Kathy Andrews Wright | August 3, 2026 | Land

Beautiful yellow daisy-like prairie flowers surround a field of solar panels. A bright blue sky is overhead.

Flowering plants and grasses beneath and around solar arrays help create habitat while keeping vegetation compatible with solar operations. Photo courtesy of Resource Environmental Solutions (RES).

Beneath the array of solar panels grow side-oats grama, Short’s sedge, broom sedge, fox sedge, purple prairie clover, Virginia wildrye, Dudley’s rush, perennial rye, little bluestem, white clover and crimson clover. Adjacent to the panels in a buffer exist a broader mix of native and pollinator-supporting flowers such as yarrow, yellow giant hyssop, common milkweed, butterfly milkweed, partridge pea, lanceleaf tickseed/coreopsis, pale purple coneflower, prairie alum root, prairie blazingstar, wild bergamot, foxglove beardtongue, gray-headed coneflower, black-eyed Susan, showy goldenrod, smooth blue aster, hoary vervain and golden alexanders.

A close-up of several tubular white flowers grouped around the top of a stalk of a prairie plant. In the background is a field of yellow daisy-like flowers. In the distance is a solar array in front of a line of trees. A bright blue sky is overhead. — Long-term vegetation management helps Sol Systems deliver clean energy while supporting habitat, soil health and land stewardship. Photo courtesy of Resource Environmental Solutions (RES).

It is proof that clean energy projects can be created and managed to support healthy populations of bees, butterflies and other insects that are critical to the pollination of agricultural crops. And that native plants – which are a food source for a variety of animals – serve a valuable purpose when integrated with solar projects.

Illinois Growing Solar Installations

Solar projects are popping up across the Illinois landscape. According to Bradley Hayes, Impact Assessment Division Manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), from 2022 through May 6, 2026, staff reviewed nearly 3,300 natural resource reviews requested by state agencies, units of local government and the public prior to work related to solar installations.

“Through EcoCAT, or the Ecological Compliance Assessment Tool, proposed projects are reviewed for potential adverse effects to endangered or threatened species and determine if the site is in the vicinity of an Illinois Nature preserve or Land and Water Reserve,” Hayes explained. “EcoCAT uses databases, Geographic Information System mapping and a set of programmed decision rules to determine if a proposed action may be in the vicinity of protected natural resources.”

In 2022, solar projects accounted for 473 of the natural resource reviews conducted and there has been a steady annual increase, with 735 requests in 2023, 802 in 2024 and 986 in 2025. More than 300 requests had been submitted during the first four months of 2026.

Infrastructure + Impact® with Sol Systems

“Pollinator-friendly solar is about designing projects that respond to and support the land around them,” noted Juliana Isaac, Director of Sustainability and Ecosystem Impact for Sol Systems, a leading national clean energy developer and independent power producer (IPP) with more than 550MW of solar projects in Illinois. “In practice, that means choosing seed mixes and management approaches that support safe, reliable solar operations while also improving soil health, creating habitat for pollinators, and supporting the ecosystems that local communities and agriculture depend on. It’s a site-specific approach that, when managed well, can deliver long-term ecological benefits alongside clean energy generation.”

“Pollinator-friendly solar reflects Sol Systems’ approach to Infrastructure + Impact®. With the right seed mix and long-term management, clean energy projects can strengthen the grid, support local communities, and help revitalize the land by creating habitat for native plants, pollinators and other beneficial species.”

Illinois Enacts the Solar Site Act

In 2018, with support from solar energy businesses and conservation groups, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Illinois Pollinator-Friendly Solar Site Act (525 ILCS 55/). To be recognized as a “pollinator friendly solar site,” the owner or manager of the site must complete the appropriate solar site scorecard with a passing score.

Pollinator Scorecard

Yellow and white prairie flowers cover a field. In the center of the field is a solar array. A county road runs along the field into the distance on the left. A house and an agricultural field is on the other side of the road on the left. A overcast sky is above. — Pollinator-friendly vegetation grows among solar panels, showing how native and flowering plants can be incorporated into solar energy sites. Photo courtesy Food Works of Southern Illinois.

Two versions of the online scorecard forms exist, one for projects with established habitat and a second option for projects where the habitat is in the planned stage. Criteria include:

Establish ground cover with a diversity of plants, with extra points when all species are native and that they bloom at various times of the growing season.
Inclusion of more than 20 species of native plants earns the applicant the most points.
Additional points for the percent of cover by the wildflowers.
For planned sites, additional points for higher concentrations of seeds per square foot and for preparing the soil to promote germination and reduce erosion.
Points for checking that no noxious or exotic weeds are present, as defined by the Illinois Noxious Weed Law and Exotic Species Act.
Presence of a vegetative buffer, with additional points for a wider measure, and key habitat components (water, nesting features) in proximity to the site.
Inclusion of a site management plan.
Loss of points if an insecticide has been used, or its use is planned.
Points for communicating with local chemical applicators to prevent herbicide drift (see fieldwatch.com).

After completing the Pollinator Scorecard form, a score of 85 or higher earns the landowner recognition as a Pollinator-Friendly Solar Site.

Proof of Program Success

A close up of a honeybee nectaring on a yellow flower. In the background is green vegetation. — A pollinator-friendly Sol Systems site pairs clean energy infrastructure with vegetation designed to support bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects. Photo courtesy of Sol Systems.

It takes time for quality habitat plantings to mature and only four growing seasons have passed since the scorecard program was implemented in 2022.

“It can take up to three years, or longer, for a planting to become established. At that point in time, most species are mature enough to start flowering so we’re just at the evaluation phase of many of the projects installed that initial year,” Hayes noted. “But we are confident that a solar installation, when properly planned and actively managed with pollinator-friendly plantings and reduced use of insecticides, will enhance the ecological value of the area for pollinators, provide additional habitat for songbirds and reduce erosion.”

The Big Picture

Sol Systems views pollinator-friendly solar not as a one-time investment, but as an intentional design choice that requires active establishment and management for success over the decades of a solar project’s life. Their objective is to manage vegetation in a way that supports reliable solar production while advancing the long-term health and resilience of the habitat. Adaptive management includes:

Yellow and white prairie flowers fill a space in front of a wire mesh fence containing a solar array. A partly cloudy sky is overhead. — A Sol Systems pollinator-friendly solar installation demonstrates how clean energy infrastructure and habitat restoration can share the same landscape. Photo courtesy of American Farmland Trust.

Mowing as necessary and used strategically to ensure habitat value is maintained wherever possible.
Integration of grazing or application of selective herbicide treatment to manage height around critical infrastructure as well as control nuisance weeds or invasive species.
Management of volunteer plants as they naturally appear on site over time. When beneficial, these species can strengthen the plant community and add habitat value. When nuisance weeds or invasive species appear, mowing or selective treatment may be needed to maintain a healthy, diverse plant community.

Isaac explained that research and field experience both point to the same conclusion: pollinator-friendly solar projects can provide meaningful habitat when they are thoughtfully planted and actively managed. Studies (see Resources below) have documented increased use by pollinator species of the pollinator-friendly habitats at solar projects, including increases in insect abundance and native bees compared to solar projects planted with conventional turf grass.

“On Sol’s projects, we see the practical signs of that habitat value as well—healthy vegetation, birdsong and bees and other insects using the flowering plants,” Isaac concluded.

Resources

CICADA (Conservation Inclusive Construction and Development Archive) Solar Power

If You Build It, They Will Come: How habitat-friendly solar energy can synergize with biodiversity conservation

Can Solar Energy Fuel Pollinator Conservation?

Pollinator Habitat in Solar Facilities Has Potential to Support High Diversity of Bee Species

Kathy Andrews Wright retired from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources where she was editor of OutdoorIllinois magazine. She is currently the editor of OutdoorIllinois Journal.