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Nevada Ivanpah Solar Plant Accidentally Incinerates Up to 6k Birds a Year (2016)

A rare and unusual type of solar power plant that concentrates sunlight in California is accidentally killing up to 6,000 birds every year, with staff reporting that the birds keep flying into its concentrated beams of sunlight, and spontaneously bursting into flames.

And the situation is made even worse by the fact that the plant sits along the Pacific Flyway- a popular migratory route for many different types of birds, including protected species like varied thrushes and northern goshawks. "Ivanpah is a bird sink - and [a] cautionary tale unfolding on public lands," Garry George from Audubon California - a conservation group that focuses on the Pacific Flyway - told the LA Times. What makes this problem stand out - besides the large number of deaths - is that it shows that even solar power plants, which are supposed to be beneficial for the environment, can still have unforeseen impacts on local ecosystems.

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