{"id":36235,"date":"2026-09-02T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/?p=36235"},"modified":"2026-09-02T06:14:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T10:14:05","slug":"a-solar-farm-was-built-to-harvest-the-desert-sun-but-tortoises-began-using-parts-of-the-enormous-energy-site-as-shelter-and-forced-researchers-to-look-at-what-happens-when-wildlife-moves-into-renewab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/a-solar-farm-was-built-to-harvest-the-desert-sun-but-tortoises-began-using-parts-of-the-enormous-energy-site-as-shelter-and-forced-researchers-to-look-at-what-happens-when-wildlife-moves-into-renewab\/36235\/","title":{"rendered":"A solar farm was built to harvest the desert sun, but tortoises began using parts of the enormous energy site as shelter and forced researchers to look at what happens when wildlife moves into renewable infrastructure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At Nevada\u2019s Gemini Solar Project, some photos show a desert tortoise (animal in danger) resting under a solar panel. Additionally, a recent online report calculates that around 48 tortoises are living there, while the agency\u2019s official project page<\/a> documents the behavior without listing that total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may be that the panels offer a relief from the sun, but scientists are still studying whether tortoises and other species of the desert can thrive in the long term in a landscape that now is used for power production<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A solar giant in the Mojave<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gemini is about 25 miles northeast of Las Vegas on federal land in the Mojave Desert. Its solar array is connected to an enormous battery system<\/a> that allows it to keep delivering electricity even after sunset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read More: A Portland power project could remove 376 trees from Forest Park, and the deal meant to save the grid has split conservation groups<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

According to Primergy<\/a>, this makes it the largest operating solar energy and storage project in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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