One mystery that solar farms have been experiencing is finding thousands of dead birds in an area that is known to be environmentally friendly.
According to a Wired report, various utilities, academics, and environmental organizations came together to form the Avian Solar Working Group in 2013 to resolve the mystery of avian deaths at American solar facilities. Duke Energy lead environmental scientist Misti Sporer said there were minimal studies done on the impacts of solar on birds.
Sporer works as an electric utility in North Carolina and the coordinator of the working group. Nobody knew what it means after seeing a dead bird and getting the data on deaths of birds at solar facilities is challenging.
To make it work, the Argonne team is using Boulder AI's commercial hardware, which is used for monitoring pedestrian and vehicular traffic. It is a small camera system that will be attached to a solar panel. It would catch all data, which will be processed on-site.
Initially, cameras are trained to identify birds correctly. Then, they will be taught to discern avian behaviors like perching, dropping, colliding, or flying overhead.
On August 10, the Argonne team is collecting training data from cameras that were set up at two solar facilities in Illinois. These data are vital for researchers who seek for answers to avoid avian morbidity at solar facilities.Sporer said "this technology allows us to get a glimpse into a world we don't normally see" that would allow us to operate with the least impact on wildlife.
The project is set for expansion to other commercial and government solar sites across the U.S., but the pandemic froze the plans.
Read also : [VIRAL] Running Ostrich Dies Due to Stress, After Attempting to Run Away During COVID-19 Lockdown
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Written by CJ Robles
