To minimize the overall disturbance to the landscape, new energy development should prioritize three types of sites:

• Built environment

  For example, placing solar arrays on the tops of buildings or hardscaping such as parking lots.

• Previously developed land

  For example, brownfields such as former industrial facilities atop contaminated land, or marginal, sub-prime farmland.

  • See American Farmland Trust’s Smart Solar℠ principles to dive deeper into strategies for minimizing impacts to farmland.

  • See the Nature Conservancy's Mining the Sun: Clean Energy Mines and Brownfields to learn about two case studies of solar projects being built on mine lands.

• Land near other energy infrastructure

  Ideally, a site will be within ten miles of existing or planned transmission and/or battery energy storage systems.

The project should then be designed with considerations such as these in mind:

• Utilize the smallest possible physical footprint.

• Lay out access roads and other related infrastructure in ways that minimize site fragmentation.

• Use wildlife-friendly fencing and retain unfenced wildlife passageways.

  Solar projects in western states that are home to big game populations can follow the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s Big Game Guidelines for Utility-Scale Photovoltaic Solar Development.

• Choose native plant species instead of turf grass.

• Buffer streams, rivers and wetlands from development.

• Use recognized Best Management Practices (BMPs) for stormwater management to protect water quality during project construction, operation and decommissioning.

  For example, the Great Plains Institute worked with partners to develop best practices for the Photovoltaic Stormwater Management Research and Testing project.

• Use recognized BMPs (where applicable) to promote soil health and productivity during construction, operation and decommissioning to preserve the land’s potential for future agricultural production.

  American Farmland Trust’s Smart Solar℠ principles include safeguarding soils for the future. AFT’s Solar Soil Health Guide provides details.

• Minimize use of cleaning, herbicide and other chemicals that could harm wildlife and natural resources.

• Consider the feasibility of a dual-use approach that co-locates energy production with agriculture or habitat restoration on the same land.

  For example, American Farmland Trust’s Smart Solar℠ principles emphasize the use of agrivoltaics — the combination of solar and agricultural production — to minimize loss of farmland while enabling farmers to gain new income sources.

• Restore affected resources, such as wetlands.

• Plan proactively for site restoration upon decommissioning of the energy infrastructure at the end of its useful life.