Birds flying over a California state-of-the-art solar plant are blowing up when they get caught in the plant's concentrated sun rays.
Workers at BrightSource Energy call the birds "streamers," due to the excessive smoke in the air after they have been ignited. One "streamer" is struck every two minutes.
The plant was built in February in efforts to have cleaner energy in the area. Solar plants are still not perfectly designed anywhere yet, and often harm the environment in other ways, including injuring wild animals.
Giant mirrors are used to reflect the rays onto three boiler towers that can reach heights of up to 40 stories. The water is heated inside and causes steam to turn turbines, which generates enough energy to provide electricity for 140,000 homes, The Associated Press reports.
Most solar power plants, unlike BrightSource, use photovoltaic solar panels, according to CBC News.
BrightSource Energy Senior Vice President, Joseph Desmond, says they are looking for a way to scare birds away from the plant, thus saving their lives, despite biologists reporting that there are no known ways to lessen the number of bird deaths.
Federal investigators are requesting the plant to stop developing a bigger plant until they finish their investigation, including a full year tally of the number of bird deaths, reports Opposing Views.
