Bats eat nighttime insects, like mosquitoes, and prevent their populations from getting out of control. However, despite our need to move away from fossil fuels and focus more on renewables like solar energy, it turns out solar farms might be affecting their communities.
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00:00Bats might not have the best reputation, but they're actually great for the environment,
00:08and for us.
00:09Bats eat night-time insects like mosquitoes and prevent their populations from getting
00:13out of control.
00:14However, despite our need to move away from fossil fuels and focus more on renewables
00:17like solar energy, it turns out solar farms might be affecting their communities.
00:22Professor of Biological Sciences at Bristol University, Gareth Jones, writes for The Conversation
00:27Bat populations are dwindling around solar farms.
00:30Six of the eight species identified in the study area were less active around the farms,
00:34with one particular species showing a 40% drop in activity in the areas immediately
00:38surrounding them, but a massive 80% drop in activity over the solar farm itself.
00:43Experts aren't exactly sure why solar farms might be reducing bat activity, but the leading
00:48theories are that they either reduce insect numbers, or the solar panels themselves might
00:52affect the bats' echolocation and sonar capabilities, as flat surfaces are known to reflect the
00:57sound away from the bats, making the area seem empty.
01:00Still, Professor Jones adds, it's not just solar farms.
01:03A study from 2012 estimated that likely around 888,000 bats had been killed to date by wind
01:10farms as well.