BrightSource solar plant sets birds on fire as they fly overhead

Workers at a state-of-the-art solar plant in the Mojave Desert have a name for birds that fly through the concentrated beams of solar energy focused upward by the plant's 300,000 mirrors — "streamers," for the smoke plume that comes from birds that ignite in midair.

Birds flying through the light beams at this solar plant are being cooked in the air. The company that owns this plant is planning on building a larger plant right on a bird migration path.
This is unconscionable.

Link: news.ca.msn.com...

Cool.

where's the video?!?

a reply to: Beartracker16........... don't let McDonalds hear about this lol or KFC

And why is this ok? Did no one know this was going to happen originally? And now that they do know, it's ok to build a bigger one?


I guess it is ok, as long as somebodies pockets are filled with cash. Cash trumps animals every time, right?

Humans just keep getting better and better.

My understanding of birds migratory patterns is that they are considered to be general areas, not direct line paths.

If someone created a map with all these migratory areas on it, you'd be hard pressed to find a suitable location anywhere.

I suppose you could surround the site in a net or something so the birds might be dissuaded from entered the area, but there would probably still be an outcry if a bird was caught up in it.

Sometimes, with some things, you just can't win.

Here is a video that explains the problem a bit more...

BooHoo for birds, I guess.
I would say a couple torched birds beats an oil spill all day.

So its happening, its horrible. Is there a way yo prevent the birds from flying overhead?

Also this seems like a good tech to have, just needs to work the kinks out.

My only issue with this... oil of any sort gets on a bird, oil companies are hammered with Fines... wind farms, or solar farms hurt endangered species... and nadda.

If the law isn't going to be applied fairly it needs to go away. (in a perfect world obviously)

If these massive solar panel fields are setting birds on fire, that gives you an idea of how much radiative heat energy is bouncing off of these things and rising up into the atmosphere.

A bit on the ironic side when the whole point of solar power is to save the world from manmade global warming.

I bet it cooks alot of bugs too.

Seems to me what someone needs to focus on if this is going to stay in use is perhaps an auditory deterrent system surrounding the area. I can see having low numbers be an ongoing thing, kind of like animals hit on roadways are, but if it's drastically high numbers of birds frying, they do need something effective to deter the birds.

a reply to: LDragonFire

No doubt.

Whoever came up with the idea to make solar panels with glassy shiny light-reflective type of surfaces needs to have their government grant paycheque revoked.

originally posted by: CranialSponge
If these massive solar panel fields are setting birds on fire, that gives you an idea of how much radiative heat energy is bouncing off of these things and rising up into the atmosphere.

A bit on the ironic side when the whole point of solar power is to save the world from manmade global warming.

Watch the video Wrathofall linked, it's directing the rays to a boiler system. I thought it was absorbing some, then reflecting the rest back up, too, until I watched it.

Put a big dome over it and magnify the rays, and super charge the out put.
The birds and bugs would be safe Boom problem solved.

originally posted by: Nyiah

originally posted by: CranialSponge
If these massive solar panel fields are setting birds on fire, that gives you an idea of how much radiative heat energy is bouncing off of these things and rising up into the atmosphere.

A bit on the ironic side when the whole point of solar power is to save the world from manmade global warming.

Watch the video Wrathofall linked, it's directing the rays to a boiler system. I thought it was absorbing some, then reflecting the rest back up, too, until I watched it.

Wait, what ?!

They're "directing" the intensive light rays ??

Holy crap.... can you say "death ray" ?!

originally posted by: CranialSponge

originally posted by: Nyiah

originally posted by: CranialSponge
If these massive solar panel fields are setting birds on fire, that gives you an idea of how much radiative heat energy is bouncing off of these things and rising up into the atmosphere.

A bit on the ironic side when the whole point of solar power is to save the world from manmade global warming.

Watch the video Wrathofall linked, it's directing the rays to a boiler system. I thought it was absorbing some, then reflecting the rest back up, too, until I watched it.

Wait, what ?!

They're "directing" the intensive light rays ??

Holy crap.... can you say "death ray" ?!

Sure "Death Ray"

People have known for a really long time you can direct and focus the sun's light to create incredibly high temps. Youtube is full of people doing it small scale to cook or burn things.

The Military already has lasers and railguns too.

Didn't know this stuff was news to people!

Even if they were directing rays back up, this energy is hitting the earth anyway, it's not like any new energy is being dumped into the earth because there are mirrors on the ground.

originally posted by: Nyiah
Seems to me what someone needs to focus on if this is going to stay in use is perhaps an auditory deterrent system surrounding the area. I can see having low numbers be an ongoing thing, kind of like animals hit on roadways are, but if it's drastically high numbers of birds frying, they do need something effective to deter the birds.

I was gonna suggest the exact same thing, I've ventured past some gardens with the infra red sensors that give of a high pitch noise to deter cats entering them. I imagine this problem is solvable ifr enough clever people put there heads together.

originally posted by: chiefsmom

I guess it is ok, as long as somebodies pockets are filled with cash. Cash trumps animals every time, right?

Cash trumps humans every time, so why not the animals, I guess. Sad, but true!

It never ceases to amaze me how, in the 21st century, all we can come up with for "new-improved-state-of-the-art-technology" is to place a million mirrors on the ground to intensify and redirect energy over to a bunch of boilers.... to boil water.... to turn a turbine.... to produce energy.

[insert slap forehead here]

I say we take all the brainiacs who came up with this idea, place them in a paper airplane and fly them over the field of mirrors.