Amidst ongoing discussions on growing energy costs and rising food prices, NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF) published research to demonstrate how solar farms enhance environmental management. This was not widely understood in the media, NESF said, but solar could be crucial to delivering food and energy security whilst also halting and reversing nature loss.

NESF’s Land Use and Solar whitepaper highlights multifunctional land as a way in which to support further integration of nature into solar energy projects. The research uses case studies of NESF’s own projects to highlight that “it can be done”. This includes a utility-scale solar asset in Italy that integrates sustainable agriculture, as well as increased grazing across solar sites within the UK.

Under the fund’s programme of Biodiversity Management Plans, it has also successfully sown and harvested crops, such as chamomile, on its solar sites to show that integrating nature into solar asset management can “deliver both economic and ecological benefits”.

The white paper was largely developed for use by UK policymakers.

NextEnergy Capital, NESF’s investment adviser, said: “raising awareness on this topic through our impact research and reporting is already having a positive effect on the solar investment sector”.

One IMPACT awards judge called it a “great example of a strong commitment from an investment manager” and praised the research for its “real-world examples of incorporating an impact pillar (biodiversity) into investment decision making”.

NESF’s whitepaper followed previous thought leadership in this space. This included a Natural Capital Educational Series ahead of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP15 to raise awareness of the additional environmental and social benefits that solar assets could provide.

NEC and NESF are also working with both the University of York and Lancaster University to identify solar-related investment opportunities that support nature and identify appropriate metrics to measure their impact.

Ross Grier, head of UK investments at NextEnergy Capital, told Environmental Finance [NESF] will continue to share lessons drawn from our strong track record investing in solar assets and enhancing biodiversity at our sites to promote an impact investment model in which solar energy drives nature conservation”.