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AP reports that wildlife investigators who watched as birds burn and fell at the Ivanpah Dry Lake Solar Tower Plant are urging California officials to halt the operator's application to build a still-bigger version until the full extent of the deaths can be assessed. Estimates per year now range from a low of about a thousand "streamers" by the plant operator to 28,000 by an expert for the Center for Biological Diversity environmental group. Those statistics haven’t curbed the enthusiasm of the Obama administration for the solar-power plant, which granted Ivanpah a $1.6 billion federal loan guarantee. The deaths are "alarming. It's hard to say whether that's the location or the technology," says Garry George, renewable-energy director for the California chapter of the Audubon Society. "There needs to be some caution." Federal wildlife officials say the plant might act as a "mega-trap" for wildlife, with the bright light of the plant attracting insects, which in turn attract insect-eating birds that fly to their death in the intensely focused light rays.
The $2.2 billion plant at Ivanpah Dry Lake near the California-Nevada border is the world's biggest plant to employ so-called power towers. More than 300,000 mirrors, each the size of a garage door, reflect solar rays onto three boiler towers each looming up to 40 stories high. The water inside is heated to produce steam, which turns turbines that generate enough electricity for 140,000 homes. While biologists say there is no known feasible way to curb the number of birds killed, the companies behind the projects say they are hoping to find one — studying whether lights, sounds or some other technology would scare them away, says Joseph Desmond, senior vice president at BrightSource Energy. Power-tower proponents are fighting to keep the deaths from forcing a pause in the building of new plants when they see the technology on the verge of becoming more affordable and accessible (PDF). When it comes to powering the country's grids, "diversity of technology ... is critical," says Thomas Conroy, a renewable-energy expert. "Nobody should be arguing let's be all coal, all solar," all wind, or all nuclear. "And every one of those technologies has a long list of pros and cons."
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Thursday August 21 2014, @02:09PM
These "environmentalists" are actually an astroturfing effort funded by the oil / coal / natural gas industry. They've used precisely the same objection to delay wind farm projects, even though both wind farms and this solar farm kill far fewer birds than, for example, skyscrapers with large reflective windows (because birds think that's more sky and slam right into 'em).
More to the point, bird populations are harmed far more by habitat destruction than anything else humans are doing. A typical mating pair will have 4-5 young, and that means that if half of 'em die by building or raccoon or cat or airplane or the gazillions of other causes of avian death, the population is completely stable. Where there's real trouble is where the mating pair doesn't have the resources to nest, and therefor has no young.
And in general, birds are doing just fine. For example, bald eagles [fws.gov] have gone from being endangered to somewhere around 10,000 breeding pairs of wild birds.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Joe Desertrat on Thursday August 21 2014, @04:23PM
Bird populations in general are NOT doing fine. There may have been success bringing the bald eagle back from the threat of extinction, but many other bird populations are in serious decline. Do a quick Google search for "us bird populations in decline" and read up.
(Score: 3, Funny) by nukkel on Thursday August 21 2014, @07:55PM
The American bald eagle died along with the Constitution, I suppose.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Thursday August 21 2014, @10:38PM
I propose we shut down the highway system until an extensive study can be performed on the impact on the squirrel population.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 1) by Freeman on Friday August 22 2014, @12:25AM
Do that and the squirrels will take over the world. ;-)
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by khallow on Thursday August 21 2014, @10:44PM
They got MoveOn fooled [moveon.org]. Link is to a MoveOn advertisement for an anti-petroleum rally sponsored by a bunch of organizations including the Center for Biological Diversity which is in the story the main private-side opposition to the solar plant.