KPBS Midday Edition

Unintended Consequences: Bird Deaths At California Solar Power Plants

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Peggy Pico / KPBS Evening Edition Host, Megan Burke / News Editor

Published August 20, 2014 at 8:30 AM PDT

This story was published more than 10 years ago.

Unintended Consequences: Bird Deaths At California Solar Power Plants

Unintended Consequences: Bird Deaths At California Solar Power Plants GUESTS:Jeff Holland, spokesman for NRG Solar of Carlsbad, one of the companies behind the Ivanpah Solar Electricity Generating System Chris Clarke, natural history writer and environmental journalist whose work can be seen on KCET.org. He's been covering the Ivanpah plant story. Jim Peugh, conservation chair for the San Diego chapter of the Audubon Society.

The goal of the huge Ivanpah solar electricity plant in the Mojave desert is to provide clean, affordable energy to thousands of households.

But what it's also doing, according to wildlife officials, is killing birds. The predictions, disputed by plant owners, are as high as 28,000 birds a year.

The debate, going on now between state and federal agencies, is whether to approve a new and bigger solar electricity plant, owned by the one of the members of the same energy group, BrightSource Energy, Inc., before experts really get a handle on how the birds are being killed and what might slow down the death rate.

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Journalist Chris Clarke has been covering this story for KCET. Here is a selection from his reporting:

Ivanpah Solar Project Has a Bad Burned Bird Problem

Bird Deaths Continue Through May at Ivanpah Solar

Panel Discards Scientists' Recommendations on Wildlife Kills at Solar Plant

Science Incomplete on 'Stealth' Solar Wildlife Deaths

KPBS Midday Edition

Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Peggy Pico

Peggy Pico served as the host of KPBS Evening Edition. Pico originally joined the KPBS newsroom as the science and technology reporter in 2010 after spending two years covering biotechnology and medical news in the Bay Area. Pico was raised in San Diego and has worked as a broadcast journalist in California, Arizona, and Texas. She previously reported for NBC 7/39 where she worked as a medical and science reporter for five years. Pico has won two Emmy’s and numerous awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Associated Press, and the San Diego Press Club. She also received the USC Health Reporter Fellowship and is a member of California Chicano News Media Association and the Association of Health Care Journalists.

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Megan Burke

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Megan Burke is an Emmy-award winning news editor overseeing the environment, health, and racial justice and social equity reporting beats. Prior to her current role as editor, Megan spent more than a decade as a producer for KPBS Midday Edition, a daily radio news magazine and podcast. Other news production credits include KPBS Evening Edition, KPBS Roundtable, and San Diego’s DNA, a two-part documentary highlighting the region’s oldest traditions and culture using personal artifacts and oral histories of San Diegans.

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