Solar Meadows Offer New Life for Grassland Birds
Restored vegetation beneath solar panels creates rich and stable avian communities across the US Midwest.
Restoring habitat under the panels
Well-designed ecovoltaic solar farms - those that pair renewable energy generation with deliberate habitat restoration - are emerging as unexpected allies for declining grassland birds. A new study spanning 13 solar facilities across the US Midwest shows that these sites, established on former row-crop farmland, support richer and more stable bird communities than surrounding agricultural fields.
Researchers monitored bird activity using passive acoustic recorders from May to September over two years. Solar farms planted with native grasses and forbs consistently held almost twice as many grassland species early in the breeding season compared with nearby control fields of maize and soy. Although the difference narrowed towards autumn, ecovoltaic sites remained reliable strongholds for a wide range of species.
The findings add weight to the growing evidence that solar developments, when properly designed, can enhance rather than erode local biodiversity.
More species and more stability
The study found that grassland bird communities using ecovoltaic sites were not only richer but also more stable week to week. In contrast, agricultural fields showed high turnover, with many species dropping in and out as the season progressed.
All species recorded in agricultural controls were also found on ecovoltaic solar farms, suggesting that the restored vegetation and reduced disturbance provide a consistently more suitable habitat base.
Grassland specialists such as Eastern Meadowlark, Field Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow and Dickcissel featured prominently among the beneficiaries.
Which species benefit - and which do not
Occupancy modelling revealed that 10 of the 13 measurable grassland species were more likely to occur on ecovoltaic sites than on crop fields. Among the strongest positive responders were Chipping Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Dickcissel, Eastern Bluebird and Savannah Sparrow.
However, not all species gained. Grasshopper Sparrow Ammodramus savannarum and Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris - both preferring very open, sparsely structured landscapes - showed higher occupancy in agricultural fields, suggesting that solar infrastructure and denser vegetation may be less suitable for them.
Even so, the overwhelming trend favoured ecovoltaic sites as net contributors to grassland bird diversity in landscapes long dominated by maize and soy production.
A refuge in transformed landscapes
More than 99% of the Midwest’s native grasslands have been lost, and the region is now one of the world’s most heavily cultivated agricultural systems. The conversion of small areas of this farmland into ecovoltaic solar installations creates pockets of restored habitat that birds can exploit for nesting, feeding and shelter.
Researchers also recorded more than 200 active nests built on or within solar infrastructure during the study, including nests of Dickcissel and Red-winged Blackbird, demonstrating how quickly birds adapt to these novel structures.
As solar deployment accelerates, the authors argue that ecovoltaic designs - featuring native planting, reduced disturbance and thoughtful site layout - offer a meaningful nature-based solution within already-degraded landscapes.
Future potential
The study does not claim that ecovoltaic systems can replace intact grasslands, nor that all species will benefit equally. But in regions where natural habitat has been largely erased, they can deliver measurable ecological gains while producing low-carbon energy.
With hundreds of ecovoltaic sites now operating across the US and many more planned, the approach is rapidly becoming a mainstream component of renewable-energy design. For grassland birds facing decades of decline, these solar farms may offer a rare and much-needed opportunity.
November 2025
Read the full paper here
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