Main Purpose

Studying effects of Solar PV development on avian reproductive success and insect activity, which causes uncertainty with respect to solar PV siting, on-site vegetation management, and various aspects of site design.

There are multiple aspects to this research:

Technical Scope

This project will conduct empirical research to collect data at ground-mounted solar facilities in the Northeast for developing an IDM that could inform site design, management, and monitoring decisions for the solar industry and other stakeholders. A high-level conceptual model representing the project’s technical scope is presented in Figure 1. The data flow between budget periods shows the transition from site monitoring (BP1 and 2) to exploring causal relationships (BP2 and 3) that can be assessed for changes in decision parameters and integrated into the IDM.

Avian Reproductive Success

The project team will consider nest survival and cowbird parasitism (cowbirds lay their eggs in nests of other species at a cost to the host species) as proxies for avian reproductive success, a critical component of avian fitness. Nest survival is nest fate (depredated by a nest predator or abandoned versus successfully fledging at least one host young) weighted by the number of days a nest was observed. Cowbird parasitism is the presence of one or more cowbird eggs in a nest. The project team will estimate nest survival and cowbird parasitism from nests located and monitored on each site during two field seasons (BP1 and BP2).

Pollinators in Solar Facilities

The project team will survey insects (focusing on bees) at solar sites using a traditional method and compare results to a machine-learning automated bioacoustics method explicitly developed for solar sites. This project focuses on these two non-lethal methods to reduce possible negative impacts of the research. Sampling protocols will take into account site design features (e.g., pollinator plantings and infrastructure locations), data-sharing agreements with facility owners, and additional guidance from operations and maintenance staff at the facilities.

insect_activity_and_bioacoustics_development

Details

Integrated Decision Model (IDM) Development

The project team will develop an IDM to support and provide information for users (e.g., solar developers, wildlife agencies, and local officials) to assess site locations, conditions, management options, and monitoring decisions related to avian reproductive success and insect activity. The IDM objectives will be developed interactively with a stakeholder advisory committee (SAC) and other industry partners, including representatives of underserved communities. Their input will be vital in defining functional relationships between decision variables and the objectives of site operators.