WC Texas News

Solar power's benefits have been widely reported but critics say there are alarming negative effects that solar farms have on local habitats, including the species who live there.

Solar farms have been linked to the deaths of tens of thousands of birds every year in Southern California and also reportedly have depleted a desert tortoise population in that state.

A solar farm in California's Mojave Desert built under the Obama administration spans 5 miles and has panels in 460-foot tall towers. The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System was built to generate enough electricity for 140,000 homes, but the desert tortoises who live in the region have been victims of the project, High Country News reported in 2014.

The Gopherus agassizii tortoise burrows deep in the sand of the desert, but the solar farm has contributed to the devastation of the tortoise's habitat and the population has decline by approximately 90% since 1950, High Country News reported.

In addition to the dying tortoises, dead and injured birds have been found at the site. It is believed they were burned while trying to fly through the heat directed at the tall towers.

The havoc caused by the farms is not aligned with the economic benefits the renewables provide, the site StopTheseThings reported.

The site reported that entire forests have been wiped out, including in Germany and Scotland. In Germany millions of acres of forests have been cleared out and in Scotland nearly 14 million trees were cut down to make way for renewables. 

StopTheseThings cites a recent study, "Renewable Energy Threatens Thousands Of ‘Globally Important Biodiversity Areas’ – And It’s Worsening," which found that 2,206 renewable projects have "already encroached on many of the world's most important places for conserving biodiversity." The projects have degraded 886 protected areas, 749 biodiversity areas and also negatively impacted 40 wilderness areas, StopTheseThings reported.

Solar power can also affect water runoff patterns and cause soil erosion and even contamination, according to an op-ed written by Ronnie and Julie Taylor that appeared in WC Texas News.

"Solar panels cause rainwater to collect at the drip line and erode a channel into the earth. If not properly managed, this watershed disturbance can also lead to soil scouring, erosion and contamination," the op-ed stated. "There is also the concern of the toxic materials inside the panels leaching after being broken during natural events like hail storms and tornadoes. One scientist found the carcinogenic cadmium found inside panels could almost entirely wash out [from] rainwater over several months."

The Taylors also pointed out that tens of thousands of birds each year have been killed in Southern California solar farms. 

"Federal investigators have called solar farms 'mega-traps' due to the power of the 'lake effect' where birds and their prey crash into the reflective solar panels, mistaking them for a body of water," the Taylors wrote. "The solar farms in Southern California kill an estimated 16,000 to 59,000 birds every year." 

The waste generated from solar panels also are a concern. The defunct and bankrupted solar company, Solyndra, which received $535 million from the Obama administration, generated approximately 12.5 million pounds of hazardous waste, according to the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow. The committee said much of the waste was toxic and carcinogenic cadmium-contaminated--and that was only after four years of Solyndra operating.