Researchers are using listening devices and cameras at three Minnesota solar farms to learn how planting native grasses and flowers benefits birds, bees and other wildlife.
Argonne National Laboratory, an Illinois-based research center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, has been collecting data at solar farms owned by Enel Green Power in Mankato and Atwater since 2018. A solar-and-battery facility owned by Connexus Energy in Ramsey was added in 2020.
Using microphones and motion-activated cameras, Argonne researchers are tracking visits by birds and wildlife to measure biodiversity at each solar farm.
“We're trying to get data from all different kinds of sites that have planted different seed mixes, or some that haven't really planted at all, that just have grasses growing on the site,” said Heidi Hartmann, program manager of land resources and energy policy at Argonne.
Source: mprnews.org
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Categories: Minnesota, Energy