Solar Farms Might Be Affecting Bats, Here’s Why

Amaze Lab

Bats eat nighttime insects, like mosquitoes, and prevent their populations from getting out of control. However, despite our need to move away from fossil fuels and focus more on renewables like solar energy, it turns out solar farms might be affecting their communities.

Transcript

00:00 Bats might not have the best reputation, but they're actually great for the environment,

00:07 and for us.

00:08 Bats eat night-time insects like mosquitoes and prevent their populations from getting

00:12 out of control.

00:13 However, despite our need to move away from fossil fuels and focus more on renewables

00:17 like solar energy, it turns out solar farms might be affecting their communities.

00:22 Professor of Biological Sciences at Bristol University, Gareth Jones, writes for The Conversation,

00:27 that populations are dwindling around solar farms.

00:30 Six of the eight species identified in the study area were less active around the farms,

00:34 with one particular species showing a 40% drop in activity in the areas immediately

00:38 surrounding them, but a massive 80% drop in activity over the solar farm itself.

00:43 Experts aren't exactly sure why solar farms might be reducing bat activity, but the leading

00:47 theories are that they either reduce insect numbers, or the solar panels themselves might

00:52 affect the bats' echolocation and sonar capabilities, as flat surfaces are known to reflect the

00:57 sound away from the bats, making the area seem empty.

01:00 Still, Professor Jones adds, it's not just solar farms.

01:03 A study from 2012 estimated that likely around 888,000 bats had been killed to date by wind

01:10 farms as well.

01:11 [Music]

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