Birds Die Over Solar Panels

The other solar farms analyzed by the investigators were of the newfangled trough and solar.

Birds die over solar panels.

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. Coverage of the ivanpah bird problem has contributed to the unfounded misconception that solar panels may kill birds. This mojave desert solar plant kills 6 000 birds a year. Editor s note 9 september 2019.

Bird barrier offers a solar panel protection kit to prevent birds from getting under the panels. The ivanpah solar electric generating system the world s largest. The bright blades and lights in turbines and solar panels actually attract birds. Bird problems and solutions.

We have clarified this article to explain how the solar thermal plant differs from the far more common design used in photovoltaic solar farms. The estimate by biologists is that the ivanpah solar plant kills about 3 500 birds per year this way. With a concentraing solar plant birds can be harmed when they fly too close to the path of the reflected solar energy. If they do they can basically get cooked by the high energy rays.

Birds can be killed when they smash into the facility s solar panels the investigation concluded. News reported that wind turbines are responsible for killing over 573 000 birds annually. 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.