When Alight planned a solar park in Sonstorp, they wanted to investigate its impact on local biodiversity more closely. By implementing carefully selected conservation and management measures, they aim to not only avoid negative impacts, but also add value to the area. Together with Ecogain, they have managed to locate and design the park in a way that is expected to yield positive results for biodiversity.
In 2024, Ecogain carried out a complementary nature value inventory and CLIMB calculation for the solar park project in Sonstorp, Finspång municipality. The planned solar park covers approximately 43 hectares of agricultural land and constitutes a pilot project to evaluate an environmentally sustainable establishment with a focus on biodiversity using CLIMB.
The project included a complementary field inventory according to the latest version of the Swedish standard for nature value inventory. Using the collected data, Ecogain carried out a CLIMB calculation, which analyzed the impact of the solar park on nature.
Sustainable protection of nature values through long-term measures
The calculations showed that the solar park would increase local biodiversity by almost 100%, from 26 to 51.7 CLIMB units. To achieve this, it is necessary to preserve biotopes of natural value, such as pastures and field margins, and to sow the land under the solar panels with clover swards that are grazed or mowed regularly. The conservation and management of these biotopes must be maintained for at least 40 years, which corresponds to the lifetime of the solar park.
3 reasons for a positive CLIMB result in Sonstorp:
- The solar park is established on land with low biodiversity today, which means that it is possible to increase the value with small efforts.
- Damage and changes to important natural areas are avoided, preventing large losses of CLIMB units. The loss is greater the more valuable the area is, even if it is small.
- Long-term conservation and positive action for biodiversity for 40 years.
The CLIMB model: A key to sustainability in solar park deployments
By using CLIMB, Alight was able to gain insights into its local impact on biodiversity when establishing a solar park on agricultural land. The results clarify which measures are effective to minimize negative impacts but also to preserve and enhance natural values where possible.
