As societies look for ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions and slow climate change, large-scale solar power is playing a central role. Climate scientists view it as the tool with the greatest potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. In the U.S., the Department of Energy predicts that solar will account for nearly 60% of all new utility-scale electricity-generating capacity installed in 2024.
隨著社會尋找減少溫室氣體排放及減緩氣候變遷的方法時，大規模的太陽能正扮演一種主要角色。氣候科學家們將其視為，到2030年具最有潛力，來減少二氧化碳排放的方法。在美國，能源部預測2024年，太陽能將占近乎60%所有新增公用事業規模的發電容量。
Developers and power plant owners plan to add 62.8 gigawatts of new utility-scale electric-generating capacity in 2024. Solar power is expected to account for the largest share, followed by battery storage.
開發商及電廠業主們計劃，在2024年新增62.8千兆瓦之公用事業規模的發電容量。預計太陽能將佔據最大份額，其次是電池蓄電。
Donut chart showing a projected 62.8 gigawatts of new US electricity generating capacity to be added in 2024, with solar at 58%, followed by battery storage 23%, wind 13%, natural gas 4%, and nuclear power and other sources 2.1%.
圓環圖顯示，經計劃於2024年，美國新增的發電容量將達到62.8千兆瓦，太陽能58%，其次是電池蓄電23%、風能13%、天然氣4%及核電與其他來源2.1%。
But ideal locations for solar development often overlap with croplands or grasslands used for livestock grazing. Typically, large-scale solar arrays are designed to maximize energy generation, without much consideration for the ecosystems in which they are placed.
不過，太陽能開發的理想地點，通常與用於放牧牲畜的農地或草地重疊。通常，大規模太陽能陣列的設計，目的是最大限度地產生能量，而不太考量其被安置處的生態體系。
For example, grading land and removing vegetation can cause erosion and send runoff into waterways. Solar developers have been fined for such environmental violations in Georgia, Massachusetts, Alabama, Idaho and Illinois.
譬如，整平土地及移除植被，會導致侵蝕及將徑流(沿著地面流動的水)排入水道。在喬治亞州、麻薩諸塞州、阿拉巴馬州、愛達荷州及伊利諾州，太陽能開發商，因這類環境違規行為，已經遭罰款。
There also are concerns about how large solar installations affect animal movement patterns. In the western U.S., removing native vegetation to make room for solar farms can threaten endangered animals and insects that rely on these plants as food and habitat. Native plant communities take a long time to reestablish themselves in these water-limited areas after they are disturbed.
也有關於大型太陽能裝置，如何影響動物移動模式的諸多憂慮。在美國西部，移除原生植被，來為太陽能場騰出空間會威脅到，依賴這些植物作為食物及棲息地之瀕臨滅絕的動物與昆蟲。在遭到干擾後，原產植物群落需花一段長的時間，來在這些缺水的地區自行重建。
I am an ecologist and a member of a research team led by Alan Knapp at Colorado State University. We investigate how solar development affects grassland ecosystem health – in particular, how plants’ growth and water use patterns and response to light change once solar panels are installed overhead. Through this work, we hope to inform a more sustainable future for solar energy.
我是一名生態學家，也是一支由科羅拉多州立大學Alan Knapp領導之研究團隊的成員。我們調查研究太陽能開發，如何影響草原生態體系的健康。特別是，一旦在頭頂上安裝太陽能板，植物的生長與用水模式，及對光線改變的反應。透過該項研究，我們希望提供有關太陽能，更為可持續之未來的資訊。
圖1. 這種農業光電伏特太陽能陣列，利用一排排面板間的空間，來種植西紅柿(番茄)。
This agrivoltaic solar array uses the space between rows of panels to grow tomatoes.
A growing alternative to using land solely for solar power generation is called agrivoltaics. As its name suggests, this strategy combines agriculture and solar power on the same piece of land. Agrivoltaic projects can take place on croplands, grazing lands and habitat for agriculturally important pollinators. This dual-use approach to solar development has become popular worldwide.
一種全然使用土地供產生太陽能之日益擴大的替代方法，被稱為農業光電伏特。顧名思義，此策略將農業與太陽能結合於同一片土地上。農業光電伏特計畫，能在農地、牧場及農業上重要之傳粉媒介的棲息地進行。這種雙重用途之開發太陽能的方法，已經成為全球普遍的方法。
The vast majority of agrivoltaic projects in the U.S. are on lands managed for livestock grazing and pollinator habitat. These sites are ideal for solar power co-location because, unlike croplands, they do not require irrigation or the use of large machinery.
於美國，絕大多數的農業光電伏特計劃，是在牲畜放牧及授粉媒介棲息地的土地上。就太陽能共置而言，此些地方是理想之處。因為不像農地，它們無需灌溉或使用大型機械。
One version of agrivoltaics is combining solar arrays and livestock grazing.
However, these lands rely on rainfall to support plant growth, and the presence of solar panels affects how water reaches the soil.
農業光電伏特的一種形式，是結合太陽能陣列與牲畜放牧。不過，此些土地仰賴降雨，來維持植物生長。因此，太陽能板的存在，影響水如何及於土壤。
Most agrivoltaic arrays use sun-tracking programs that maximize energy production by tilting panels to follow the sun across the sky. As this happens, the panels create distinct micro-environments that are quite different from natural conditions.
大多數農業光電伏特陣列使用，藉由傾斜的面板，以跟隨越過天空的太陽，來最大限度地產生能量之追蹤太陽的方案。當此發生時，這些面板產生全然不同於自然條件之難得的微環境。
For example, in Colorado, most precipitation occurs in the afternoon, when solar panels are tilted west toward the sun. As a result, most rainfall on agrivoltaic sites is concentrated at the panels’ western edges where it drops to the ground. This redistribution can multiply rainfall at panel edges by up to a factor of four, while restricting rainfall in other patches.
譬如，在科羅拉多州，大部分降雨發生於下午，此時太陽能板向西朝太陽傾斜。因此，於農業光電伏特場地上的大部分降雨，集中於其降到地面之此些面板的西邊。此重新分佈能增加，於面板邊緣的雨量高達四倍，同時限制於其他小區域的雨量。
Another factor is that solar panels introduce shade on grasslands that are adapted to high light conditions. Because the arrays are optimized to intercept sunlight, much less light reaches plants beneath the panels.
另一個因素是太陽能板，在適應強光條件的草原上引進陰影。由於此些陣列經優化來攔截陽光，因此到達面板下方植物的光線較少得多。
So far, our work shows that the distinct micro-environments created by solar arrays produce similarly varied patterns of plant growth. This finding is encouraging: It means that the environmental variation created by solar panels passively tracking the sun is enough to make plants respond differently. These micro-environments could potentially support a mosaic of plant communities that benefit from different conditions.
迄今為止，我們的研究顯示，由太陽能陣列創造之難得的微環境，同樣產生多樣的植物生長模式。此發現令人鼓舞：這意味著，由太陽能板被動追蹤太陽，產生的環境變化，足以使植物不同地作出反應。此些微環境潛在上可能維持一種，受益於不同條件之植物群落的拼輟形態。
In some cases, mixed conditions like these, with varying levels of light and water, can be a good thing. A well-tested concept in restoration ecology – the science of restoring damaged ecosystems – is that environments with more variety support more diverse mixes of plants and animals.
在某些情況下，像這樣的混合條件，具有不同程度的光照及水，會是一件好事。在復原生態學(恢復受損生態系的科學)中，一種經充分檢驗的概念是，更多樣化的環境維持，動物及植物的更多樣化混合。
In a 2023 paper, we outlined a concept that calls for an ecologically informed approach to solar development. This approach, called ecovoltaics, requires giving equal priority to energy production and ecosystem services.
在2023年的一篇論文中，我們概述了一個，呼籲一種生態上明智之方法，來開發太陽能的概念。這種被稱為生態光電伏特的方法，要求同樣重視能源生產及生態體系。
An ecovoltaic approach allows land managers to use solar to their advantage. Designing and managing solar arrays in ways that are rooted in fundamental ecological concepts can produce more synergies between ecosystems and solar energy.
生態光電伏特方法使土地經營者們得以，利用對他們有利的太陽能。以植根於基本生態概念的方式，設計及經營太陽能陣列，能在生態體系與太陽能之間產生更多的增效作用。
圖2. 生態光電系統能以不同方式配置，來達成特定的生態目標，諸如減少土壤水分流失，或為放牧牲畜創造陰涼區。
Ecovoltaic systems can be configured in different ways to achieve specific ecological goals, such as reducing water loss from soil or creating shady zones for grazing livestock.
Land managers could use ecovoltaic approaches to improve degraded lands by designing solar arrays to enhance natural processes. For example, since the edges of solar panels redistribute and concentrate rainfall, making the soil beneath them wetter, they could aid in seedling establishment in those spots.
藉由設計太陽能陣列，來增強自然變化過程。土地經營者們可能使用生態光電伏特方法，來改善退化的土地。譬如，由於太陽能板的邊緣重新分佈及集中雨量，使其下方的土壤更加濕潤。因此它們可能協助，於那些地方的育苗。
In arid regions, arrays could be designed to promote this effect and improve restoration. If water is scarce, arrays could be designed to reduce the amount of exposed ground, which in turn would reduce the amount of water lost to the atmosphere through evaporation.
在乾燥地區，陣列能被設計來促進此種效果及改善復原。倘若缺水，陣列能被設計，來減少曝露的地面數量。這依序，將降低透過蒸發喪失到大氣中的水量。
Many factors influence land management decisions. The land’s history, access to water, soil types, vegetation and topography all play a role. Ecovoltaics adds another factor: balancing energy production per unit area with the ecological effects of a particular solar array.
諸多因素影響土地經營決策。土地的過往、獲得水的機會、土壤類型、植被及地形，皆扮演一種角色。生態光電伏特增添了另一個因素：平衡每單位面積之能量生產與特殊太陽能陣列的生態效應。
An ecovoltaic approach to solar power requires fundamentally rethinking how solar development decisions are made. Today, access to electricity transmission lines limits where solar power can be deployed in many areas. If transmission lines and substations are too far away, or undersized, solar power is unlikely to be developed.
太陽能的生態光電伏特方法，需全然重新思考，如何作出開發太陽能的決策。當今，獲得電力傳輸線路的機會，限制了諸多地區的太陽能部署。倘若傳輸線路及變電站距離太遠或是小型，則不太可能開發太陽能。
New transmission projects that ease this geographic constraint could provide more options. With greater flexibility in choosing sites, developers could shift away from highly sensitive natural ecosystems and install solar arrays on abandoned, water-limited or otherwise degraded lands instead. Ecovoltaics could be a solution for stabilizing the economy of communities where productive land has been retired to conserve resources.
緩解此地理限制的新輸電計劃，可能提供更多選擇。由於在選擇地點上，具有更大的彈性，開發商們可以轉移遠離高度敏感的自然生態體系，而代替在廢棄、缺水或其他退化的土地上，安裝太陽能陣列。生態光電伏特或許是穩定，生產性土地已經被引退，以保護資源之社區經濟的解決方案。
Solar power is scaling up to levels that make it central to a clean energy transition. My colleagues and I believe that solar development should proceed in a way that reflects ecological thinking. In our view, an ecovoltaic approach to solar can produce positive ecological outcomes and make solar energy even more sustainable.
太陽能正不斷擴大到，使其成為潔淨能源轉型核心的規模。我的同僚們及我認為，太陽能的開發應該以一種，反映生態的思維方式進行。在我們的見解中，太陽能的生態光電伏特方法，能產生正面的生態成果，且使太陽能更為可持續。
網址：https://theconversation.com/solar-power-occupies-a-lot-of-space-heres-how-to-make-it-more-ecologically-beneficial-to-the-land-it-sits-on-216423
翻譯：許東榮
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