Author: Daytonna Anderson

Chart: Most Americans support expanding solar and wind power

Posted on by Daytonna Anderson

Canary Media

November 15, 2024

Solar and wind power are more popular among Americans than nuclear power or fossil fuels, according to a May survey from Pew Research Center. Republicans as well as Democrats favor expanding the renewable energy sources — but Republican support for them has fallen sharply over the last eight years. Democrats have always viewed clean energy more favorably than Republicans, but the gap between the two was once small. Now, after years of slipping Republican support, that gap is yawning.

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Artificial Intelligence Camera Captures Bird Behavior Around Solar Panels to Inform Siting and Conservation—Success Story

Posted on by Daytonna Anderson

U.S. Department of Energy

October 24, 2024

Understanding how wildlife interacts with solar arrays is critical to maintaining healthy ecosystems while deploying clean energy. A team at Argonne National Laboratory set out to develop a camera system that could continuously monitor how birds behave around solar panels using artificial intelligence. Their results provided greater understanding of bird behaviors at large-scale solar sites. Now, they’re testing this system across the country to build a bigger picture of bird interactions with solar systems to support ecologically responsible solar deployment. 

Building enough solar energy to decarbonize the U.S. economy by 2035 could require as much as 5.7 million acres of land. While this is only about 0.3% of the contiguous United States, it is critical to understand how solar infrastructure impacts local wildlife so we can develop strategies and technologies that avoid or minimize adverse impacts and maximize benefits. 

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Discovery of Rare Bee Species in Con Edison’s Transmission Right-of-Way Creates a Buzz

Posted on by Daytonna Anderson

Energy Central

June 18, 2024

Biologists’ most exciting discovery to date is a male Nomada electella, a species that had never been recorded in New York.

“The discovery of regionally rare bee species on transmission corridors is incredibly important for pollinator conservation,” said Molly Jacobson, native pollinator ecologist, SUNY-ESF. “These rare bees rely on very specific resources, like certain flowers, soils, or particular hosts (in the case of parasitic bees), which have become scarce in the northeast due to reforestation and development of these sandy, open or shrubby habitats.”

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