Just in Time for 4th of July
The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project array is nearly ready to go partially online in Nevada. The $737 Million publicly Department Of Energy funded project is intended to produce 110 MW of energy. There’s just one problem.
130 birds were literally set on fire in mid flight during a recent test run in the span of 2 hours. This is because the array redirects solar energy to a point 1200 feet above ground, right in the flightpath of birds.
Nature World News reports:
“About two hours into the test, engineers and biologists on site started noticing “streamers” – trails of smoke and steam caused by birds flying directly into the field of solar radiation. What moisture was on them instantly vaporized, and some instantly burst into flames – at least, until they began to frantically flap away. An estimated 130 birds were injured or killed during the test.”According to The Associated Press (AP), many biologists call the number of deaths “significant” and suspect that the streamers are caused by a chain of attraction – that is, insects are drawn towards the bright plant’s light, which in turn attracts birds looking to feast on crispy bugs.
A sturdy chicken catapult and a mess of baked beans and potato salad and we got us a one hell of a 4th of July celebration dinner.
