CX-101668: Building a framework to genetically characterize “feather spots” and understand demographic impacts of solar energy sites on migratory bird populations

Award Number: DE-EE0009005
CX(s) Applied: A9, B3.1, B3.6
Solar Energy Technologies Office
Location(s): CA
Office(s): Golden Field Office

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to provide funding to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to conduct research on the impacts of utility-scale solar energy facilities on avian species and populations. The project would seek to collect data on impacts to avian populations by gathering biological material (i.e. bird carcass remains from “feather spots”) from solar energy sites, using this material to identify/assess bird species’ traits via laboratory testing, and building a publically accessible database with the information gathered. Variables to be assessed would include species identity, population trends, mortality trends, species vulnerability, etc. The project would be divided into three Budget Periods (BPs), with a Go/No-Go Decision Point in between each BP.