Accelerating Multifunctional Innovative Photovoltaic Energy Systems through Biodiversity Sensitive Assessment (BiodIvErSe)

To achieve EU climate neutrality by 2050, solar energy will play a key role in the energy transition. However, increasing implementation of PV systems leads to higher land use, creating challenges for nature protection, landscape conservation, and public acceptance. The EU Strategy for Solar Energy highlights the need for innovative PV (I-PV) that allows multifunctional land use, such as Agri-PV, floating PV, peatland PV, and biotope-PV. Yet, public authorities have little experience in planning and permitting these technologies. There is a need for clear legal frameworks and assessment methods for evaluating their environmental impact.