Avian Mortality at a Solar Energy Power Plant. McCrary, M., D., McKernan, R., L., Schreiber, R., W., Wagner, W., D., & Sciarrotta, T., C. J. Field Ornithol, 57(2):135-141, 1986.
abstract   bibtex   
In 1979, the United States Department of Energy, in conjunction with the Southern California Edison Company (SCE) and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, initiated the construction of Solar One, the world's largest solar energy power plant (Fig. 1). Until the construc-tion of Solar One, the use of the sun's energy to produce electrical power had not been attempted on this scale, and the environmental hazards of operation of a solar power plant were unknown. In this paper we report on bird mortality at Solar One. STUDY AREA AND METHODS Solar One is a 10 megawatt, central receiver solar power plant con-sisting of a 32-ha field of 1818, 6.9 x 6.9 m mirrors (heliostats) which concentrate sunlight on a centrally located, tower-mounted boiler, 86 m in height (Fig. 1). The reflective surface area of each heliostat is ap-proximately 40 M2, and the total for all heliostats is approximately 72,500 m2. When not directed at the tower during morning startup, testing, and maintenance, some or all of the heliostats are focused on standby points, four small areas (approximate diameter = 5 m) of sky around the tower at a height of 80 m. Temperatures within the standby points vary with the number of heliostats focused on them and the reflectivity of an object placed within them, but the temperature can be high enough to burn feathers and small insects. Solar One is located in the Mojave Desert, 4 km east of Daggett, San Bernardino County, California (34052'N, 116051 'W). The dominant des-ert plant community in this area is creosote bush (Larrea divaricata) scrub, although abandoned and active agricultural fields (alfalfa) and extensive (53 ha) evaporation ponds (Fig. 1) are adjacent to Solar One. We visited Solar One approximately once per week (2-3 days per visit) on 6 occasions from 3 May through 8 June 1982 and on 34 occa-sions from 16 September 1982 through May 1983. During each visit 1-2 observers searched the facility for any evidence of bird mortality. Although searches were not conducted in a fixed pattern, the entire fa-cility was covered during each visit. Bird carcasses were readily found because of the sparse vegetation and level ground of Solar One. Exper-iments involving the placement of 19 bird carcasses of various species within and just outside (<200 m) the fenced facility were conducted in May and September 1982 to measure the rate of bird carcass removal by scavengers. These carcasses were checked periodically until removed by scavengers or decomposed. 135
@article{
 title = {Avian Mortality at a Solar Energy Power Plant},
 type = {article},
 year = {1986},
 pages = {135-141},
 volume = {57},
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 abstract = {In 1979, the United States Department of Energy, in conjunction with the Southern California Edison Company (SCE) and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, initiated the construction of Solar One, the world's largest solar energy power plant (Fig. 1). Until the construc-tion of Solar One, the use of the sun's energy to produce electrical power had not been attempted on this scale, and the environmental hazards of operation of a solar power plant were unknown. In this paper we report on bird mortality at Solar One. STUDY AREA AND METHODS Solar One is a 10 megawatt, central receiver solar power plant con-sisting of a 32-ha field of 1818, 6.9 x 6.9 m mirrors (heliostats) which concentrate sunlight on a centrally located, tower-mounted boiler, 86 m in height (Fig. 1). The reflective surface area of each heliostat is ap-proximately 40 M2, and the total for all heliostats is approximately 72,500 m2. When not directed at the tower during morning startup, testing, and maintenance, some or all of the heliostats are focused on standby points, four small areas (approximate diameter = 5 m) of sky around the tower at a height of 80 m. Temperatures within the standby points vary with the number of heliostats focused on them and the reflectivity of an object placed within them, but the temperature can be high enough to burn feathers and small insects. Solar One is located in the Mojave Desert, 4 km east of Daggett, San Bernardino County, California (34052'N, 116051 'W). The dominant des-ert plant community in this area is creosote bush (Larrea divaricata) scrub, although abandoned and active agricultural fields (alfalfa) and extensive (53 ha) evaporation ponds (Fig. 1) are adjacent to Solar One. We visited Solar One approximately once per week (2-3 days per visit) on 6 occasions from 3 May through 8 June 1982 and on 34 occa-sions from 16 September 1982 through May 1983. During each visit 1-2 observers searched the facility for any evidence of bird mortality. Although searches were not conducted in a fixed pattern, the entire fa-cility was covered during each visit. Bird carcasses were readily found because of the sparse vegetation and level ground of Solar One. Exper-iments involving the placement of 19 bird carcasses of various species within and just outside (<200 m) the fenced facility were conducted in May and September 1982 to measure the rate of bird carcass removal by scavengers. These carcasses were checked periodically until removed by scavengers or decomposed. 135},
 bibtype = {article},
 author = {McCrary, Michael D and McKernan, Robert L and Schreiber, Ralph W and Wagner, William D and Sciarrotta, Terry C},
 journal = {J. Field Ornithol},
 number = {2}
}

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