Avangrid’s Post

Public Library of Science (PLOS) recently published an article (“Seasonal patterns of bird and bat collision fatalities at wind turbines”) that utilized data compiled in the American Wind Wildlife Information Center (AWWIC). Collaborative data-sharing efforts such as AWWIC can play a key role in improving the #conservation of species adversely affected by #renewableenergy development by supporting research targeted at finding solutions. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e_d22MP7

It's really great to see research being done into topics like this. This is a brilliant article highlighting the best new tech that could be implemented to have wind turbines and wildlife co-existing to maintain sustainable energy efforts will keeping various wildlife safe and undisturbed. #windturbines #wildlife #newtech

BALANCING NATURE VS RENEWABLES: "From BIRDS POINT of STAND, they picked the WORST PLACE". Recognizing desperate need for MORE CLEAN ENERGY, avian advocates are working to STEER SOLAR projects AWAY FROM KEY HABITATS. The gathering place for owl-seekers is part of the Washington County Grasslands important bird area, a 13,000-acre sweep of fields, meadows, and wetlands near the Vermont border. Fewer than 100 breeding pairs of Short-ears remain in New York, where they’re now classified as endangered, a decline in tandem with the steep loss of grasslands to development. To protect them and other wildlife that rely on this habitat, the state has acquired hundreds of acres here over the past decade. But the vast majority remains in private hands. Now a Quebec-based renewable energy company, Boralex, is eyeing 750 acres of the grasslands for a 100-megawatt solar facility expected to power approximately 28,000 households. Local conservationists say they support capturing more solar energy but fear the project will harm birds that nest in the fields or fly low over them to hunt.

How are manufacturing plants creating #nativehabitat on their sites? Examples: * The Ford Motor Company’s Rouge Center in Dearborn, Michigan, which has a 10.4-acre green roof that supports more than 40 species of plants and provides #habitat for birds, #butterflies, and insects. *The Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, which has restored 82 acres of #wetlands and #prairies that host more than 1,000 species of plants and animals, including endangered ones. *The Intel Corporation’s Ocotillo Campus in Chandler, Arizona, which has landscaped 57 acres with #nativeplants that conserve water and attract wildlife https://lnkd.in/gzQJG2Xx

New Study: Challenges creating monarch butterfly management strategies for electric power companies in the United States. Our publication in the prestigious journal, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, applies our GIS monarch habitat model to consider how best to manage for the butterfly. Due to the diversity and scale of land managed by electric power companies across the monarch range, plus an additional 32 million hectares needed for new solar arrays by 2050 to meet renewable energy goals, the electric power industry may have potential to contribute to monarch conservation. However, our study shows that conclusions about how power companies manage for monarch conservation may need to be context specific, given the diversity of company structures, overarching legal mandates, and the broad suite of land cover types managed. Many thanks to all who reviewed this project over the last two year! Wayne Thogmartin, Jay Diffendorfer, Christian Newman, Laura Lukens, Alliant Energy, New York Power Authority, Tennessee Valley Authority, Ameren, SMUD; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Eric Lonsdorf, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Dr. David Zaya, Ray Moranz, Stephanie Frische, Emma Pelton, Tyler Flockhart; Dr. Chip Taylor, Dan Salas, Iris Caldwell #powerinpollinators https://lnkd.in/gaFsgtyU

Check out our new paper that applies a GIS habitat model to inform monarch butterfly conservation strategies on electric power landholdings in the United States.

'Wildlife in Britain, already one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries, is continuing its long-term decline, according to the most comprehensive assessment ever carried out of UK biodiversity.' Wildlife in Britain is suffering and it is vital that renewable developments work to improve biodiversity. #renewables #renewableenergy #cleanenergy #climateaction #greenenergy #renewables

NEW report from Solar Energy UK finds that solar farms can be a haven for wildlife 🌱 🌞 Rachel Hayes, Consents and ESG Policy Manager at Solar Energy UK, said: "This report confirms what we have known anecdotally for many years: well-designed and well-managed solar farms can help address the climate emergency and loss of biodiversity in the UK." Read more ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/dUhvVeKD #biodiversity #SolarFarms #RenewableEnergy

If you care about our environment, want to protect wildlife, having access to hunting and fishing, then please comment on the absolutely insane BLM plan to allocate 22 MILLION ACRES of federal land for useless solar development. Solar is NOT a good solution for baseload energy. Massive land use requirements, low capacity factors, hazardous waste issue, short panel life (~15 years at best) and funding Chinese companies that provide these panels. This is not land management...this is land destruction. These installations will leave permanent scars and the land will never be reclaimed to its current conditions. The installations are fenced off - so wildlife migration routes are impacted.. In 2019, Sweetwater Solar, the developer of Wyoming’s first utility-scale solar project on public lands, failed to adequately assess the migratory patterns of local wildlife. The company constructed a nearly 100-megawatt facility across a primary pronghorn migration corridor. Thousands of the ungulates were forced off their natural migration path and onto the highway, and other regions along the corridor remain the subject of continued debate. https://lnkd.in/gxTU_DBx #notgreen #BLM #environmentaldestruction #hunting #fishing #wildlife

Are Offshore wind farms able to improve the conditions of wildlife? Inspiring article having a completely different perspective:) Thanks Vattenfall for highlighting that! #Vattenfall #fossilfreeenergy