Photovoltaic solar farms in California: can we have renewable electricity and our species, too?

Photovoltaic solar power generating facilities are proliferating rapidly in California and elsewhere. While this trend is welcomed for many reasons (e.g., reducing greenhouse gas emissions), these facilities also can have profound environmental impacts, particularly to local species populations. The...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Brian L. Cypher, Brian B. Boroski, Robert K. Burton, Daniel E. Meade, Scott E. Phillips, Philip Leitner, Erica C. Kelly, Tory L. Westall, Jason Dart
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	California Department of Fish and Wildlife 2021
Materias:	endangered species conservation mitigation strategies mojave desert san joaquin desert solar farms species of conservation concern Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/6cbc9445626f444f8fdc23911b4b90ee
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:6cbc9445626f444f8fdc23911b4b90ee
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:6cbc9445626f444f8fdc23911b4b90ee2021-11-04T14:30:09ZPhotovoltaic solar farms in California: can we have renewable electricity and our species, too?10.51492/cfwj.hwisi.62689-4203https://doaj.org/article/6cbc9445626f444f8fdc23911b4b90ee2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doaj.org/toc/2689-4203Photovoltaic solar power generating facilities are proliferating rapidly in California and elsewhere. While this trend is welcomed for many reasons (e.g., reducing greenhouse gas emissions), these facilities also can have profound environmental impacts, particularly to local species populations. These impacts become more significant when species of conservation concern are affected. In the San Joaquin Desert region in central California, a number of conservation measures have been routinely implemented on solar facilities, and these measures have facilitated continued use of the facilities by a number of species of conservation concern. Some of the more significant measures include permeable security fences, vegetation management, movement corridors, avoiding critical features such as dens and burrows, and vehicle speed limits. Detailed studies have been conducted on San Joaquin kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis mutica) using solar facilities in the San Joaquin Desert. Demographic and ecological attributes of foxes are similar between foxes using the facilities and foxes on nearby reference sites, and values for foxes on solar sites are within the ranges of values for foxes reported from sites within core population areas. Facilitated by the conservation measures, kit foxes are using at least six facilities in the San Joaquin Desert as are a variety of other species of conservation concern. This successful model also potentially could be adapted to other ecosystems and applied to facilities in regions outside of the San Joaquin Desert, such as the Mojave Desert. Determining whether species in other regions can use photovoltaic solar facilities and identifying the most efficacious conservation measures will require time and testing, and these efforts would benefit from collaborative efforts among landowners, solar developers, natural resources agencies, researchers, and others. The San Joaquin Desert facilities and a recent demonstration facility in the Mojave Desert provide strong evidence that solar facilities can be constructed and operated in a manner that also accommodates continued use of the facilities by some species of conservation concern.Brian L. CypherBrian B. BoroskiRobert K. BurtonDaniel E. MeadeScott E. PhillipsPhilip LeitnerErica C. KellyTory L. WestallJason DartCalifornia Department of Fish and Wildlifearticleendangered speciesconservationmitigation strategiesmojave desertsan joaquin desertsolar farmsspecies of conservation concernScienceQENCalifornia Fish and Wildlife Journal, Vol 107, Iss 3, Pp 215-232 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	endangered species conservation mitigation strategies mojave desert san joaquin desert solar farms species of conservation concern Science Q
spellingShingle	endangered species conservation mitigation strategies mojave desert san joaquin desert solar farms species of conservation concern Science Q Brian L. Cypher Brian B. Boroski Robert K. Burton Daniel E. Meade Scott E. Phillips Philip Leitner Erica C. Kelly Tory L. Westall Jason Dart Photovoltaic solar farms in California: can we have renewable electricity and our species, too?
description	Photovoltaic solar power generating facilities are proliferating rapidly in California and elsewhere. While this trend is welcomed for many reasons (e.g., reducing greenhouse gas emissions), these facilities also can have profound environmental impacts, particularly to local species populations. These impacts become more significant when species of conservation concern are affected. In the San Joaquin Desert region in central California, a number of conservation measures have been routinely implemented on solar facilities, and these measures have facilitated continued use of the facilities by a number of species of conservation concern. Some of the more significant measures include permeable security fences, vegetation management, movement corridors, avoiding critical features such as dens and burrows, and vehicle speed limits. Detailed studies have been conducted on San Joaquin kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis mutica) using solar facilities in the San Joaquin Desert. Demographic and ecological attributes of foxes are similar between foxes using the facilities and foxes on nearby reference sites, and values for foxes on solar sites are within the ranges of values for foxes reported from sites within core population areas. Facilitated by the conservation measures, kit foxes are using at least six facilities in the San Joaquin Desert as are a variety of other species of conservation concern. This successful model also potentially could be adapted to other ecosystems and applied to facilities in regions outside of the San Joaquin Desert, such as the Mojave Desert. Determining whether species in other regions can use photovoltaic solar facilities and identifying the most efficacious conservation measures will require time and testing, and these efforts would benefit from collaborative efforts among landowners, solar developers, natural resources agencies, researchers, and others. The San Joaquin Desert facilities and a recent demonstration facility in the Mojave Desert provide strong evidence that solar facilities can be constructed and operated in a manner that also accommodates continued use of the facilities by some species of conservation concern.
format	article
author	Brian L. Cypher Brian B. Boroski Robert K. Burton Daniel E. Meade Scott E. Phillips Philip Leitner Erica C. Kelly Tory L. Westall Jason Dart
author_facet	Brian L. Cypher Brian B. Boroski Robert K. Burton Daniel E. Meade Scott E. Phillips Philip Leitner Erica C. Kelly Tory L. Westall Jason Dart
author_sort	Brian L. Cypher
title	Photovoltaic solar farms in California: can we have renewable electricity and our species, too?
title_short	Photovoltaic solar farms in California: can we have renewable electricity and our species, too?
title_full	Photovoltaic solar farms in California: can we have renewable electricity and our species, too?
title_fullStr	Photovoltaic solar farms in California: can we have renewable electricity and our species, too?
title_full_unstemmed	Photovoltaic solar farms in California: can we have renewable electricity and our species, too?
title_sort	photovoltaic solar farms in california: can we have renewable electricity and our species, too?
publisher	California Department of Fish and Wildlife
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/6cbc9445626f444f8fdc23911b4b90ee
work_keys_str_mv	AT brianlcypher photovoltaicsolarfarmsincaliforniacanwehaverenewableelectricityandourspeciestoo AT brianbboroski photovoltaicsolarfarmsincaliforniacanwehaverenewableelectricityandourspeciestoo AT robertkburton photovoltaicsolarfarmsincaliforniacanwehaverenewableelectricityandourspeciestoo AT danielemeade photovoltaicsolarfarmsincaliforniacanwehaverenewableelectricityandourspeciestoo AT scottephillips photovoltaicsolarfarmsincaliforniacanwehaverenewableelectricityandourspeciestoo AT philipleitner photovoltaicsolarfarmsincaliforniacanwehaverenewableelectricityandourspeciestoo AT ericackelly photovoltaicsolarfarmsincaliforniacanwehaverenewableelectricityandourspeciestoo AT torylwestall photovoltaicsolarfarmsincaliforniacanwehaverenewableelectricityandourspeciestoo AT jasondart photovoltaicsolarfarmsincaliforniacanwehaverenewableelectricityandourspeciestoo
_version_	1718444844436684800

Photovoltaic solar farms in California: can we have renewable electricity and our species, too?

Ejemplares similares