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Solar Farms Help Bees: Solar Installations for the Bees

Posted on March 5, 2024 by dishanth

Solar farms help bees: Solar farms emerging as sanctuaries for declining wild and honey bee populations.

In an unexpected turn, solar farms help bees and are emerging as potential sanctuaries for declining bee populations, providing a secondary purpose beyond clean energy generation. A recent study reveals that strategically planting native flowers and grasses around solar installations significantly enhances the population and diversity of crucial pollinators like bees, offering a promising avenue for both clean energy expansion and environmental conservation.

Research conducted by scientists from the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Lab, in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Lab, focused on assessing the impacts on insects from two large solar installations situated on retired farmland in Minnesota. Enel Green Power North America, the operators of these solar sites, undertook the initiative to plant wildflower mixes alongside the panel arrays during construction in 2018. The researchers then conducted comprehensive year-round insect surveys at these facilities from 2018 to 2022.

The findings from the study are nothing short of remarkable; solar farms help bees. Over the five-year observation period, both native bee and monarch butterfly populations increased more than twenty-fold. The areas surrounding the solar panels transformed into thriving, prairie-like habitats abundant with essential flowering nourishment. The overall insect populations tripled, surpassing initial expectations. Additionally, these flourishing hubs of pollinators are extending benefits to vegetation in nearby agricultural areas, as evidenced by satellite imaging.

Dr. Lee Walston, an ecologist at Argonne and the lead author of the study, expressed enthusiasm about the scale of positive influence managed solar landscapes can have on insect biodiversity and abundance. The strategic integration of natural ecosystem elements adjacent to renewable projects, as demonstrated in this study, could potentially offer a win-win scenario, supporting the expansion of clean energy infrastructure while addressing the decline in insect populations.

The research underscores the concept of “solar sharing” – a departure from the traditional approach of isolating solar infrastructure from its surroundings. By allowing vegetation to thrive around solar facilities, solar farms help bees, and a new haven is created to support fragile bee colonies. The collapse of global bee populations poses a severe threat to agriculture, as over $500 billion in crop production relies on natural pollination annually.

But it doesn’t have to be only about the bees. Agrovoltaics refers to co-locating agriculture and solar photovoltaic systems on the same land. The solar panels are elevated and spaced out to allow crops to be grown underneath while allowing sunlight to reach the crops. The partial shade created by the solar panels can benefit certain crops by providing shelter, reducing evapotranspiration, and lessening weed pressure. The crops benefit the solar infrastructure by reducing heat under and around the panels.

Some bee-friendly crops and flowers that could thrive under the partial shade of solar panels include potatoes, cabbage, kale, carrots, Brussels sprouts, celery, spinach, onions, garlic, lettuce, arugula, strawberries, asparagus, leeks, swiss chard, parsley, oregano, green beans, sunflowers, cosmos flowers, marigolds, clovers, borage, and many varieties of wildflowers. These provide nutrient-rich pollen and nectar that support diverse bee populations.

These findings open the door to a new perspective on the relationship between solar power and ecological conservation. Instead of erecting barriers, solar infrastructure can be designed to coexist harmoniously with the environment. The success observed in this study suggests that solar farms help bees and can play a crucial role in aiding declining bee populations, offering hope for preserving essential pollinators.

As the world grapples with the urgent need for sustainable practices amid the climate crisis, the authors hope these groundbreaking findings will inspire further research. Exploring habitat-friendly solar blueprints to integrate nature into the urgent climate transition could be a transformative step forward. Dr. Walston emphasized the potential symbiosis between solar power and ecological conservation, envisioning bees flocking to blossoms beneath solar panels, which may reveal surprising pathways to advance sustainable energy and agriculture concurrently.

In conclusion, solar farms help bees. Once seen solely as agents of clean energy, they are now emerging as potential allies in the crucial mission to preserve and protect bee populations. This unexpected synergy between renewable energy infrastructure and environmental conservation opens doors to innovative solutions that could redefine the future of sustainable energy and agriculture.

Source Happy Eco News

Stingless bee honey discovery could create conservation-friendly business opportunities in Asia Pacific

Posted on August 13, 2020 by dishanth

Scientists from Australia and Malaysia have found a sugar with many reported health benefits present in the honey produced by five species of stingless bees. The finding could lead to increased interest from consumers.

In a discovery that could create conservation-friendly business opportunities in the Asia Pacific region, scientists from Australia and Malaysia have found a sugar with many reported health benefits present in honey produced by stingless bees.

The researchers tested honey from five stingless bee species—two Australian, two Malaysian and a Brazilian species—and found that up to 85 per cent of their sugar is a rare sugar called trehalulose.

Trehalulose has a low glycaemic index, which means it is good for diabetics. It is also acariogenic, which means it does not cause tooth decay, said associate professor Mary Fletcher, an organic chemist at the University of Queensland and one of the authors of the new study.

This is the first time that trehalulose has been found as a major component in any food. The sugar in stingless bee honey was previously thought to be maltose.

The study validates the wisdom of Indigenous people, who have long known that native stingless bee honey has special health properties, Fletcher said.

The finding is expected to make stingless bee honey more attractive to consumers and lead to increased industry production.

“Stingless bees are kept in small hive structures and propagated by beekeepers, so the collecting of stingless bee honey doesn’t negatively impact on native diversity of these species. In Australia it is already popular for individuals to keep stingless bee hives in their backyard as pets and for pollination,” Fletcher told Eco-Business.

Stingless bee or Meliponini honey sells for around A$200 (US$144) per kilogram (kg), which is costlier than average, and comparable with premium Manuka and Royal Jelly honey, she said.

Stingless bees are much smaller than honeybees and produce smaller quantities of honey. Their honey currently makes up a “very small” percentage of the honey sold worldwide, the bulk of which is from honeybees, said Fletcher.

A way to eradicate poverty

Pollinators are vital to food production, but are on the decline in many parts of the world due to the use of pesticides, pathogens as well as pests.

Even before the study was published, Malaysia had been eyeing the growth of stingless beekeeping due to its potential as a stable and sustainable source of income for its people. Stingless bee honey is called kelulut in Malaysia and is farmed by an estimated 750 to 1,000 people in the Southeast Asian country.

In a 2018 study, Malaysian researchers estimated that stingless beekeeping could potentially generate income of RM5,000 (US$1,193) or more per month for farmers, and help eradicate urban and rural poverty.

“Beekeeping plays a major role in socio-economic development and environmental conservation in Malaysia,” stated the researchers, Dr Mohd Mansor Ismail of Universiti Putra Malaysia and associate professor Wan Iryani Wan Ismail of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.

“It is an important income-generating activity with high potential for improving incomes especially in the fruits and pineapple plantations and to rural farmers’ bordering tropical forest reserves.”

Dr Mohd Mansor, who is now an industry representative, said beekeeping is promoted in Malaysia as an additional income source for rubber and palm oil smallholders that can keep them out of poverty when prices of the commodities are low. He was not involved in the University of Queensland study.

Stingless bee honey can cost up to RM800 per kg after processing, said Dr Mohd Mansor, who is involved in beekeeping at Mersing Bee Farm in Johor in Malaysia. Unprocessed stingless bee honey is selling for about RM350 per kg, higher than honey from the Apis mellifera honeybee, which is selling at RM200 per kg.

Optimising trehalulose content

Challenges that beekeepers face include competition from fake honey, which is honey adulterated with cheaper substances such as corn syrup, he said.

Stingless beekeepers also experience huge deviation in yield, with some producing up to 1.2 kg per hive per month, while others produce as little as 300 grams per hive per month. This is a challenge that requires more research and better hive management to overcome, he said.

There are over 500 species of stingless bees in the world’s tropical regions including Africa, Asia, Australia, Melanesia and the Americas, said Fletcher.

As the study covered only five species, more research is needed to determine if other stingless bee species also produce trehalulose, she said. The stingless bee species examined were the Tetragonula carbonaria and Tetragonula hockingsi species in Australia, Geniotrigona thoracica and Heterotrigona itama in Malaysia and from Tetragonisca angustula in Brazil.

And while trehalulose has been reported to have antidiabetic properties, which seem to be related to similar claims about stingless bee honey, human trials are needed to validate these antidiabetic claims, she said.

Going forward, Fletcher plans to investigate the conditions that affect the percentage of trehalulose present in the honey. In the study, it ranged from 30 to 85 per cent of the sugar present.

In a new year-long project that began last month, Fletcher and her colleagues will seek to optimise or standardise the trehalulose content of Australian stingless bee honey. The work is funded by AgriFutures Australia—an organisation largely funded by the Australian government—and supported by the Australian Native Bee Association.

By Neo Chai Chin

Source: eco-business.com