Birds Die Over Solar Panels

Birds can be killed when they smash into the facility s solar panels the investigation concluded.

Birds die over solar panels.

The other solar farms analyzed by the investigators were of the newfangled trough and solar. The ivanpah solar electric generating system the world s largest. We have clarified this article to explain how the solar thermal plant differs from the far more common design used in photovoltaic solar farms. If they do they can basically get cooked by the high energy rays.

Workers at a state of the art solar plant in the mojave desert have a name for birds that fly through the plant s concentrated sun rays streamers for the smoke plume from birds that ignite. The bright blades and lights in turbines and solar panels actually attract birds. Bird experts say we don t know much about background mortality rates in the desert the number of birds that might die at project locations even in the absence of solar panels. The estimate by biologists is that the ivanpah solar plant kills about 3 500 birds per year this way.

Federal biologists say about 6 000 birds die from collisions or immolation annually while chasing flying insects around the facility. News reported that wind turbines are responsible for killing over 573 000 birds annually. With a concentraing solar plant birds can be harmed when they fly too close to the path of the reflected solar energy. Editor s note 9 september 2019.

Bird problems and solutions. Coverage of the ivanpah bird problem has contributed to the unfounded misconception that solar panels may kill birds. Bird barrier offers a solar panel protection kit to prevent birds from getting under the panels.