# Solar photovoltaics: Impact on the biosphere

Few deaths, some birds, and a coming wave of old panels

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_pv/biosphere/

What this tab covers Effects on human, animal, plant, fungal and microbial life and on whole ecosystems: in the short term (construction and early years), medium term (operating life) and long term (decommissioning and legacy).

PV causes very few deaths and emits nothing in operation. Its main effects are local (land turned into solar fields, some bird deaths) and distant (mining and factory pollution in supplier countries). Old panels will become a large but largely recoverable waste stream.
 Deaths per TWh (accidents and air pollution) about 0.02^[5](https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy) Life-cycle emissions, crystalline silicon (harmonised median) 45 g CO2e/kWh^[3](https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/inecol/v16y2012is1ps122-s135.html) Bird deaths at desert PV sites, US (high-end estimate) 2.49 per MW per year^[11](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232034) Energy payback time, European systems about 0.9-1.1 years^[1](https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/ise/de/documents/publications/studies/Photovoltaics-Report.pdf)

#### Effects over time

| Life affected | Short term | Medium term | Long term |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Humans**^[5](https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy)^[13](https://www.irena.org/publications/2016/Jun/End-of-life-management-Solar-Photovoltaic-Panels) | Falls and electrical injuries during installation; pollution from mining and silicon refining in producer regions. | Displaces fossil generation and its air pollution; about 0.02 deaths per TWh, against 24.6 for coal (European plants). | Old panels need collection; CdTe modules and lead solder require controlled recycling. |
| **Animals**^[11](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232034)^[12](https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v92y2016icp405-414.html) | Site clearing and fencing displace ground-dwelling animals. | At ten PV sites in California and Nevada the high-end estimate was 2.49 bird deaths per MW a year, and water-associated birds appeared in 90% of desert site-years (possibly mistaking panels for water). All US utility-scale solar (PV and CSP) was estimated to kill 37,800-138,600 birds a year. | Little evidence of lasting effect once sites are restored. |
| **Plants**^[6](https://thebreakthrough.org/blog/whats-the-land-use-intensity-of-different-energy-sources) | Vegetation is cleared or mown during construction. | Panels shade the ground; ground cover or crops can grow beneath raised panels. | Land can return to its previous use after removal. |
| **Fungi and soil life**^[6](https://thebreakthrough.org/blog/whats-the-land-use-intensity-of-different-energy-sources) | Grading and compaction disturb soil. | Little evidence of effect in the sources used. | Little evidence of effect. |
| **Ecosystems**^[6](https://thebreakthrough.org/blog/whats-the-land-use-intensity-of-different-energy-sources)^[13](https://www.irena.org/publications/2016/Jun/End-of-life-management-Solar-Photovoltaic-Panels) | Fragmentation of desert and grassland habitat at large plants. | About 2,000 hectares per TWh a year for ground-mounted plants, against about 7 for nuclear. | Retired panels could hold about 78 million tonnes of raw materials by 2050, worth over USD 15 billion if fully recovered. |

#### How the effects are reduced

Siting matters most: rooftops, car parks, reservoirs and degraded land avoid habitat loss, and agrivoltaic layouts keep land in farming. Wildlife-permeable fencing, native ground cover and avoiding wetland flyways reduce harm to animals. Making panels with low-carbon electricity moves their footprint towards the bottom of the 23-82 g CO2e/kWh range, and take-back schemes (mandatory in the EU) recover glass, aluminium, silicon and silver.

#### Sources

1. [Photovoltaics Report (updated 14 July 2026)](https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/ise/de/documents/publications/studies/Photovoltaics-Report.pdf) Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, 2026
2. [Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Electricity Generation: Systematic Review and Harmonization (Hsu et al., Journal of Industrial Ecology 16 S1)](https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/inecol/v16y2012is1ps122-s135.html) NREL LCA Harmonization Project / RePEc, 2012
3. [What are the safest and cleanest sources of energy? (life-cycle range from UNECE)](https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy) Our World in Data, 2024
4. [What are the land-use intensities of different energy sources? (summary of Lovering et al., PLOS ONE 2022)](https://thebreakthrough.org/blog/whats-the-land-use-intensity-of-different-energy-sources) The Breakthrough Institute, 2022
5. [A summary of bird mortality at photovoltaic utility scale solar facilities in the Southwestern U.S. (Kosciuch et al., PLOS ONE 15(4): e0232034)](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232034) PLOS, 2020
6. [A preliminary assessment of avian mortality at utility-scale solar energy facilities in the United States (Walston et al., Renewable Energy 92, 405-414)](https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v92y2016icp405-414.html) Elsevier / RePEc, 2016
7. [End-of-Life Management: Solar Photovoltaic Panels](https://www.irena.org/publications/2016/Jun/End-of-life-management-Solar-Photovoltaic-Panels) IRENA and IEA-PVPS, 2016

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_pv/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_pv/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_pv/correlation/index.md)
- [Efficiency](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_pv/efficiency/index.md)
- [Techniques](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_pv/techniques/index.md)
- [Resources and labour](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_pv/resources/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_pv/links/index.md)