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Utility scale solar farms contribute to bird diversity

New research has shown that solar parks can play a positive role in promoting bird diversity in the agricultural landscape of Central Europe. The scientists said solar farms offer food availability and nesting sites.

JANUARY 9, 2024 LIOR KAHANA, PV Magazine

A European group of researchers has conducted a study on the impact of solar parks on birds in a Central European agricultural landscape. They surveyed 32 solar park plots and 32 adjacent control plots in Slovakia during a single breeding season.

“We selected ground-mounted photovoltaic power plants with an area of at least 2 hectares,” the researchers explained. “All of the studied solar parks had fixed-tilt solar racks, one of which also had panels mounted on biaxial trackers, and were developed at least eight years earlier. Seventeen solar parks were developed on arable land, and 15 parks were developed on grassland.”…………………………………………………………………..

According to the research group, bird species richness, diversity, and invertebrate-eater species richness and abundance were higher in the solar parks than in the control plots. Among the reasons provided by the research group is the food availability for insectivorous birds, as the PV panels attract various species of water-seeking aquatic insects.

“As food availability and accessibility is low in winter, it can be assumed that solar parks can have a positive impact on farmland birds outside the breeding season, as they can serve as stopover, foraging and roosting sites during migration and wintering as the ground under the solar panels can remain snow-free in winter,” the academics explained……………………………..

They presented their analysis in the study “Solar parks can enhance bird diversity in the agricultural landscape,” published in the Journal of Environmental Management. The research was a collaborative work of scientists from Slovakia’s Slovak Academy of Sciences, Gemer-Malohont Museum, Comenius University in Bratislava, Catholic University in Ružomberok, Slovak Ornithological Society/BirdLife Slovakia, and Belgium’s University of Antwerp.  https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/01/09/utility-scale-solar-farms-contribute-to-bird-diversity/

January 12, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, renewable