Do PV facilities affect wildlife movement?

Much remains unknown about the impacts of PV facili-ties on wildlife movement at diferent spatial scales and within diferent geographic regions. Habitat loss and perimeter fencing associated with PV facilities could reduce landscape permeability and impede the move-ment of game animals and other wildlife.

Are volant wildlife causing panel collisions at PV facilities?

Some panel collisions of volant wildlife could be from predator-prey interactions with aquatic insects (Smallwood 2022); however, much remains unknown about these ecologi-cal interactions at PV facilities. Are wildlife fatalities numerous enough to adversely afect populations or have cumulative impacts?

What percentage of electricity is generated by PV solar?

At the utility scale, PV solar energy accounts for 3.0% of electricity gener-ated in the United States but substantially less than that produced by natural gas (38.3%), coal (21.8%), nuclear power (18.9%), wind power (9.2%), or hydropower (6.3%).

How can a PV solar system reduce habitat loss?

Minimization will come in two forms — on-site habi-tat restoration and fatality reduction. On-site habitat restoration has garnered much attention in the PV solar industry in the form of pollinator-friendly solar or native grassland restoration to minimize habitat loss within the footprint.

Which species will occupy PV facilities?

In general, grassland and motile species that can adapt to the infrastructure and the modified abiotic and biotic conditions (i.e., eco-system) will be more likely to occupy PV facilities, and depending on pre-construction land use and adjacent habitat, we should expect species composition shifts.

Are PV facilities a threat to wildlife?

PV facilities, much like other human infrastructure, may pose risks to some wildlife and their habitats (Lovich and Ennen 2011; Hernandez et al. 2014; Moore-O’Leary et al. 2017; Agha et al. 2020).