What we didn't know about the impact of solar energy on wildlife

El U.S. Geological Service (USGS) published the results of a environmental impact study whose purpose was to verify the efficiency of different remote sensing techniques. These techniques were aimed at studying solar energy installations and their impact on fauna.

This study showed that although birds and bats are occasionally observed near concentration towers, most of the observations were made of insects. The study does not quantify the impacts. If data are provided showing that fewer than 15 birds were observed impacting the solar beam in more than 700 hours of video. The images show that the vast majority of the observations were insects, not birds or bats.

The observations and conclusions of the USGS are fully consistent with previous studies by independent experts, who rated the impact on birds as “Low”, all based on data collected during the first two years of operation of the project Ivanpah .

The scientific data is clear: the impact of the solar plant on bird species is minimal, especially compared to other causes of bird mortality.

You can download here the article of Evaluating the Effectiveness of Wildlife Detection and Observation Technologies in a Solar Power Tower InstallationR. It includes information on radar detections and comparisons between thermal and optical cameras, among others, we hope it will be of interest to you.