Utah’s House recently passed HB412 — Energy Development Planning Amendments. Sponsored by Rep. Doug Owens and Sen. Derrin Owens, this bipartisan bill would require consultation with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) as part of the permitting process for utility-scale renewable energy projects. It’s a crucial step that would help reduce the impacts of such projects, especially solar, on wildlife and their habitats throughout the state.
Every energy source has trade-offs, and considering our track record for building out novel infrastructure without environmental consequences, it’s essential that in our transition to renewable sources, we don’t simply trade impacts to the climate for impacts to the habitat and ecosystems that make Utah unique.
Currently, renewable energy developers are required to consider federally listed species, but more common species, like elk, deer and pronghorn, are not typically part of that review. Because these species are considered “common,” current regulations do not require that developers analyze how projects could impact them. However, as we all know, even though these species might be common throughout Utah or the West, local resident populations or migratory herds might face a variety of challenges that threaten their long-term survival.
Additionally, although the main concern with wind energy is direct mortality for species like bats and birds, the impacts from solar are more nuanced and difficult to determine. Rather than direct mortality, the main concern with solar stems from loss of habitat when thousands of acres are fenced off, excluding large mammals and other species and potentially blocking or limiting their access to critical resources.
Counties have primary authority for permitting renewable energy projects, and while some counties regularly consult UDWR regarding these species, this consultation occurs sporadically. Oftentimes, UDWR isn’t consulted until it’s too late to incorporate meaningful changes to a project’s design or configuration.
HB412 would fix that. It would ensure ungulates and other Utah wildlife species are part of that process from the beginning. And the timing of this legislation couldn’t be more critical. Across the country, applications for utility-scale projects are proliferating — especially in the West, whose arid landscapes with little tree cover and high solar potential are well-suited for solar energy development.
This boom is coinciding with a growing understanding and greater appreciation for how wildlife move across our landscapes on a daily and seasonal basis. Over the past decade, Utah has become a national leader in mapping and identifying migration corridors and protecting landscape connectivity. The state’s Wildlife Migration Initiative has collared thousands of animals, documenting wildlife corridors and migration routes throughout the state. Many of these areas include low-elevation winter range habitat that ungulates utilize to escape the deep snows of the high country.
These winter range areas often overlap with places that are well-suited for solar development. However, it’s rare that this data is brought to bear during the permitting process, and without it, there’s a greater chance that solar projects will inadvertently block access to habitats that animals have learned to rely on during the most sensitive periods of their life cycles.
UDWR has not only the data to help steer projects away from the highest-priority habitats but also the expertise to recommend management strategies to minimize and mitigate impacts. While the science is still fairly novel, researchers and wildlife managers have been exploring new approaches and tactics that could reduce the impacts of these projects on wildlife, including the inclusion of pathways between arrays of panels to allow wildlife to move through solar sites. Because the science is still evolving, there are no set solutions, and every project will differ based on species, quality of habitat, and proximity to roads or other features, which is why it’s critical that UDWR has a seat at the table from the start.
HB412 would not only provide an opportunity to apply the insights gathered from millions of dollars of research conducted by UDWR over the past decade; it’s also an essential step toward protecting the wildlife that Utahns value so greatly. As the bill moves to the Senate, now is the time to contact your senator and tell them to vote yes on HB412.