Green‑on‑green conflicts between ecological and energy engineering along China’s coast

Coastal renewable energy is expanding rapidly, yet project footprints increasingly overlap with restoration priorities. Along China’s coasts, solar photovoltaic arrays are being built while a national campaign is underway to control the invasive cordgrass Spartina alterniflora. Co-occurrence can create a green-on-green conflict: Photovoltaic arrays interfere with S. alterniflora control by hindering detection and constraining the removal of cordgrass, while Spartina-driven sediment accretion and vegetation growth may degrade the operation of photovoltaic stations. Here we synthesize mechanisms and distinguish physical and institutional drivers of the conflict. To resolve this issue, we recommend the following four actions to minimize the conflict: (1) Optimize engineering design, (2) Improve cost accounting, (3) Strengthen institutional and regional coordination, and (4) Implement cross-disciplinary project-level co-design. With this framework, the success of both green energy and ecological restoration can be maximized. Along China’s coasts photovoltaic arrays hinder detection and removal of invasive cordgrass Spartina alterniflora, while the cordgrass degrades array operation, resulting in a green-on-green conflict according to a literature synthesis of the mechanisms and drivers for both developments.