The Buzz About Utility Scale Solar

There's a new "buzz" in the solar energy industry and it has nothing to do with declining solar energy prices, the efficiency of solar panels, or tax credits. The "buzz" is about bees and other pollinators. A report from Argonne National Laboratory released earlier this year highlighted the potentially beneficial relationship between utility-scale solar energy (USSE) facilities and pollinator habitat. From the pollinators' perspective, the development of pollinator-friendly habitat surrounding USSE facilities can help mitigate lost habitat resulting from land development, help address health threats such as Colony Collapse Disorder which hit the honey bee population particularly hard in the early 2000s and can help promote overall bee population health. From the perspective of the solar energy industry, pollinator-friendly habitat can be installed in place of the gravel and turf that typically surrounds USSE facilities thereby minimizing the environmental impacts of