China’s solar power rollout is harming birds, a new analysis finds

China’s solar domination could have unintended ecological harms

A new study finds that China’s solar energy boom is hurting bird diversity

China is the world leader in solar power, but the country’s massive boom in this clean energy source could have unintended consequences for the country’s birds.

Using birdwatching and policy data from more than 2,300 counties across China, a new analysis found that areas with stricter policies enforcing solar energy development have seen decreases in bird diversity over the last 10 years. The study adds to a body of evidence showing the negative impact of industrial development and habitat loss on birds.

“Our results situate solar expansion within the broader, already well-established set of anthropogenic pressures on birds, including habitat loss, agricultural intensification, climate change and land use conversion,” says Huiming Zhang, an associate professor at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology in China and lead author on the study.

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Constructing solar power plants can affect the vegetation and landscape around them—including the creatures that live there. Curiously, the researchers found that even in areas where planners had attempted to plant new vegetation in the wake of a solar farm being built, it didn’t mitigate bird diversity loss—a result of what the researchers call “inferior greening.”

The analysis, which published today in Science , will hopefully help to “reconcile energy and conservation goals” in China and elsewhere in the world, Zhang says.