Why Solar Power Is Good for Birds
Solar energy is a boon for the environment, but some methods can be harmful to birds and other wildlife. Here's how to go solar safely.
If you install solar panels on your roof, don't expect your birds to show any appreciation. At best, they鈥檒l bless them with a splatter of droppings. But if they knew better, they'd be grateful, because installing solar panels at home is one of the best ways to help birds avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Why do solar panels help birds?
Currently, about two-thirds of the electricity used in the United States comes from burning coal, oil, and natural gas. In a furnace, those materials combust and release carbon pollution, which forms a thin layer in the atmosphere and traps heat like a blanket. Over the past century, that greenhouse-gas blanket has grown so thick that here on the ground we can feel and see its effects through rising temperatures, which in turn affect long-term trends in rainfall, polar ice, and sea levels.
So can birds. And on the wing, they can quickly react to subtle changes in their environments鈥攖emperature, food, water, habitat鈥攁nd shift their ranges. Already we're seeing evidence of this in response to the changing climate. Carolina Wrens, Northern Mockingbirds, and Tufted Titmice are creeping into the Midwest. Caspian Terns are nesting at Cape Krusenstern National Monument in Alaska, nearly 1,000 miles farther north than previously recorded. Horned Puffins are following food farther north into Arctic waters than ever before, where they鈥檙e evicting Black Guillemots from their burrows and devouring eggs and chicks.
That's just the start of the changes to come. The and thousands more worldwide. Cutting carbon pollution is essential to avoid the worst impacts on birds and other wildlife.
In contrast to coal, oil, and natural gas, solar panels produce plentiful electricity without releasing any carbon pollution. By taking the step to install them on your roof, you ensure that your energy use won't contribute to the climate problem.
In addition, each solar panel installation is an investment in our future economy driven by renewable energy. The more demand exists for solar panels, the cheaper their production becomes. And the more people that install solar panels on their rooftops or buy into community solar gardens, the louder the message to communities and elected officials that people care about climate change and protecting the environment.
It鈥檚 clear that solar energy can have big benefits for birds. Still, it鈥檚 also important to keep in mind that there are several different types of solar technologies, and some types are better for wildlife than others.
What type of solar is good for birds?
Photovoltaic (PV) solar is what you鈥檝e likely seen on the roofs of houses or in a community solar garden. A solar panel is composed of hundreds of photovoltaic cells, which collect sunlight and transform it into electricity.
The presence of PV panels on a roof鈥攚hether on a house, office building, or other structure鈥攄oesn鈥檛 disrupt wildlife habitat and takes advantage of already-built space.
Large-scale PV installations (like utility-scale solar, solar parks, solar power stations, or solar farms) place many large solar panels in a single location to generate electricity for utility companies to distribute to many homes. These large-scale solar farms can benefit birds overall, but it鈥檚 vital for developers to minimize their harm to wildlife. For example, some solar developers in Minnesota and other states are growing native plant species around solar panels to benefit birds and other pollinators.
In the Western United States, these large-scale installations are often planned for desert areas that receive a lot of sunlight. However, these same desert lands are often habitat for birds and other wildlife. It鈥檚 important for installers to consider solar farm placement and avoid uprooting habitat wherever possible. In fact, some states are working with conservation groups to choose locations for solar farms that will minimize harm to wildlife, such as 爆料公社 California鈥檚 work to shape the state鈥檚 new .
Another problem with large solar farms is that birds sometimes mistake the glossy blue expanse of solar panels for bodies of water and try to land on them. This is called a 鈥渓ake effect.鈥 Birds have been found dead, wounded, or stranded at several solar projects in the desert. The 鈥渓ake effect鈥 puts waterbirds in particular at risk because some species can鈥檛 take off from the ground; they require a running start on the water鈥檚 surface. Some developers are adding special patterns to their panels or using other strategies to reduce the risk of crash landings.
What type of solar is not so good for birds?
Thermal solar, also known as concentrating solar, generates electricity by focusing solar rays to transform a fluid into steam. That steam then turns a turbine to power a generator.
Some concentrated solar installations arrange a huge number of mirrors that point to a central tower, and the concentrated solar towers create an incredibly high-heat area that鈥檚 dangerous for anything to touch. What's worse, the light beam and surrounding mirrors actually attract birds and the insects they like to eat.
The potential harm of this solar power method can be seen at the Ivanpah concentrated solar tower in California. In 2015, Ivanpah killed about seven birds per gigawatt hour of electricity produced鈥攐r estimated over the course of the year. By comparison, the climate change impacts of burning fossil fuels are estimated to kill only one bird per gigawatt hour. Because of this, 爆料公社 opposes any further construction of concentrated solar towers.
All energy development has some impact on habitats and wildlife, and in the big picture, the threat of climate change poses a greater risk to entire species than renewable energy installations generally pose to individual birds. However, it鈥檚 crucial to reduce these projects鈥 impacts on wildlife as much as possible. For this reason, 爆料公社 continues to work with developers and elected officials to choose locations for new renewable energy projects that take birds and their habitats into consideration, and to call for better methods to reduce bird strikes and deaths at all types of energy facilities.