The Bat Population is Being Hurt by Solar Farms

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

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

00:08Bats eat nighttime insects like mosquitoes and prevent their populations from getting out of control.

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

00:18it turns out solar farms might be affecting their communities.

00:22Professor of Biological Sciences at Bristol University, Gareth Jones, writes for the conversation,

00:26bat populations are dwindling around solar farms.

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

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

00:39but a massive 80% drop in activity over the solar farm itself.

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

00:47but the leading theories are that they either reduce insect numbers,

00:50or the solar panels themselves might affect the bat's echolocation and sonar capabilities,

00:55as flat surfaces are known to reflect the sound away from the bats, making the area seem empty.

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

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

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