Renewable energies and biodiversity: Impact of ground‐mounted solar photovoltaic sites on bat activity ...

(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) Abstract Renewable energy is growing at a rapid pace globally but as yet there has been little research on the effects of ground‐mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) developments on bats, many species of which are threatened or protected. We conducted a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tinsley, Elizabeth, Froidevaux, Jérémy S. P., Zsebők, Sándor, Szabadi, Kriszta Lilla, Jones, Gareth
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Zenodo 2023
Subjects:
bat
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13423510
https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.13423510
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Summary:(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) Abstract Renewable energy is growing at a rapid pace globally but as yet there has been little research on the effects of ground‐mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) developments on bats, many species of which are threatened or protected. We conducted a paired study at 19 ground‐mounted solar PV developments in southwest England. We used static detectors to record bat echolocation calls from boundaries (i.e. hedgerows) and central locations (open areas) at fields with solar PV development, and simultaneously at matched sites without solar PV developments (control fields). We used generalised linear mixed‐effect models to assess how solar PV developments and boundary habitat affected bat activity and species richness. The activity of six of eight species/species groups analysed was negatively affected by solar PV panels, suggesting that loss and/or fragmentation of foraging/commuting habitat is caused by ground‐mounted solar PV panels. Pipistrellus pipistrellus ...