Impact on Wildlife
- Habitat Fragmentation: The installation of solar panels in close proximity can create barriers to animal movement and migration, fragmenting habitats and preventing species from accessing essential resources like food, water, and shelter.
- Optical Illusions: Closely spaced solar panels with reflective surfaces can create an optical illusion of water, attracting water birds that may land and become stranded, unable to take off on dry land.
- Solar Glare: Highly reflective surfaces from densely packed panels can cause “solar glare,” disorienting birds and insects, leading to increased collision risks with panels or nearby structures.
Mitigation Strategies
- Increased Panel Spacing: Varying and increasing the spacing between solar panels can help reduce the optical illusion of water bodies and allow more light to reach the ground, supporting vegetation growth and reducing habitat disruption.
- Vegetation Management: Allowing vegetation to grow under and around panels provides habitat for local species. This approach can help minimize habitat loss by maintaining biodiversity.
- Wildlife-Friendly Infrastructure: Incorporating wildlife-friendly features such as permeable fencing allows species to pass through the solar facility area, maintaining habitat connectivity and reducing impacts on local wildlife populations.
In summary, the spacing of solar panels affects wildlife habitats by influencing habitat fragmentation, optical illusions, and solar glare. However, implementing mitigation strategies like increased panel spacing and wildlife-friendly infrastructure can help minimize these negative impacts.
Original article by NenPower, If reposted, please credit the source: https://nenpower.com/blog/how-does-the-spacing-of-solar-panels-affect-wildlife-habitats/
