How French solar farms are reviving wildflowers, supporting bees and butterflies

​French solar farms are bringing back native wildflowers. The findings also showed that these sites can support bees and butterflies, challenging the notion that solar farms uniformly harm pollinating insects and the plants they depend on. Solar farms produce clean energy, but the panels reshape the surrounding landscape. Those changes can include shifts in temperature, moisture, and vegetation, and research shows solar sites can encourage native plant growth. But the panels can also create shaded areas that affect plant-pollinator interactions.​An article in the journal Biological Conservation examined the effects of solar panels on plant-pollinator interactions at 20 solar farms in Southern France. The study found that plants under the panels had 76-86% fewer pollinator visits than plants outside them. But the impact varied across the farm.​Researchers found that “inter-row” plants, which grow between rows of solar panels, continued to attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators.