Deep within the Mojave Desert is one of the country’s biggest solar farms. This is where electricity is produced by capturing sunlight under the Nevada sun. But beneath the rows of panels covering the ground, researchers noticed something they did not expect.
Scientists wanted to understand how wildlife responded to a landscape changed by renewable energy.
Scientists studying the site have made a surprising discovery concerning how the solar farm is being utilized.
How did so many animals come to reside beneath a solar farm?
A desert transformed by sunlight
Located in the Mojave Desert just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada, is the Gemini Solar Project. It is designed to harness sunlight and generate clean energy.
The area in which the Gemini Solar Project now resides had a diverse population of desert species prior to construction.
Although the Mojave Desert appears barren, it provides habitat for numerous plant and animal species that have adapted to harsh conditions.
For desert tortoises, shade is one of the most important forms of protection from extreme heat. To avoid temperature extremes, desert tortoises rely on burrows, vegetation, or man-made shade.
Thousands of solar panels were added when the Gemini Solar Project was constructed.
Although they altered the view of the desert, the panels also created new shaded areas.
These areas were located below each panel.
Researchers studied the changes to local wildlife and vegetation resulting from the addition of this large-scale solar farm. They sought to determine how desert species would respond to this alteration in their natural environment.
Can a solar farm and wildlife coexist?
Construction of large-scale solar farms often disrupts natural habitats. These construction activities can harm native vegetation, soil, and wildlife.
However, researchers at Gemini are studying ways to reduce construction impacts. In collaboration with other researchers, the Desert Research Institute studied three-cornered milkweed, a rare species found in the Mojave Desert. Their study revealed that the plant survived construction activities.
It also showed evidence of recovery due to conservation initiatives taken during the project.
These results showed that some renewable energy projects can reduce impacts on desert ecosystems.
With proper planning and design considerations, certain species can coexist with energy generation activities.
But the most surprising finding came from underneath the solar panels.
Shelter hidden beneath the panels
Researchers wanted to know what happened to the wildlife already living in the area before construction began. One of the animal species being studied was the desert tortoise.
Desert tortoises have adapted to survive in some of North America’s most inhospitable conditions.
The USGS documented a photograph of a desert tortoise sleeping beneath the Gemini Solar Project.
Their presence at a site transformed by construction raised an important question.
The tortoises were there all along
The desert tortoises observed at Gemini were not relocated after construction began.
Prior to construction, they were part of the Mojave Desert ecosystem.
Environmental procedures were implemented during construction to reduce impacts on wildlife. An essential part of these strategies was installing fencing around portions of the facility. The fencing helped reduce risks to tortoises while allowing smaller animals to pass through some sections.
As development progressed, a limited number of desert tortoises continued to inhabit parts of the area. Some tortoises became accustomed to living directly beneath sections of the solar panels.
The shaded areas beneath the solar panels provided protection from direct sunlight. Photographs like this show how tortoises are using their surroundings in an altered environment.
The discovery changes how some altered landscapes are viewed.
Human-made structures can sometimes become part of an ecosystem rather than simply replacing it.
Similar discoveries are helping researchers understand how wildlife responds to changing landscapes.
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