Impact on Norfolk – wildlife and biodiversity

What happens when land is industrialised

Habitat loss

Ground clearance and gravel access tracks destroy nesting and foraging areas.

Barriers to movement

Security fencing and cabling restrict species movement and fragment ecological networks.

Drainage changes

Soil compaction alters water flow, affecting wetland and grassland species.

Disturbance

Increased light, heat, and noise disrupt behaviour in bats, owls, and pollinators.

Norfolk’s ecological context

Norfolk supports some of Britain’s richest farmland biodiversity, from skylarks and hares to barn owls, pollinators, and rare chalk-stream ecosystems.

The cumulative loss of hedgerows, field margins and open space to fenced solar compounds risks undoing years of local conservation work.

Even when developers promise “biodiversity gain,” this often relies on unenforceable management plans or narrow definitions of improvement (e.g., planting grass between panels).

True biodiversity enhancement takes decades and depends on connectivity, something mega solar fencing removes.

A better approach

CPRE Norfolk supports renewable energy done well, designs that work with nature, not against it.

This means prioritising rooftops, car parks, and brownfield land, while restoring degraded farmland through regenerative agriculture and rewilding corridors.

This page is based on the exhibition board “Impact on Norfolk – Wildlife and Biodiversity” from CPRE Norfolk’s Getting Solar OFF the Land Exhibition (2025). 

Sources: 

CPRE National, 2024 – “The True Cost of Green Energy on Nature.”
Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service (NBIS), 2025 – Habitat Connectivity Mapping.
SolarQ, 2024 – Environmental Impact Summary.