The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is proud to announce renewable energy companies Qcells and Southern Power as the 2023 Industry Wildlife Stewardship Award recipients. The award honors companies whose primary mission is not wildlife-related, but choose to go above and beyond the baseline regulatory requirements in a collaborative manner with the department. Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik recognized the companies on July 16 during the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission meeting in Buffalo.
“It is important to acknowledge industry partners who strive to be responsible stewards of our natural resources and Wyoming’s wildlife,” Nesvik said. “Both of these companies have gone above and beyond to reduce environmental impacts and facilitate wildlife movement across the landscape in project areas.”
Qcells is a leading complete energy solutions provider that also manufactures Tier 1 solar panels. The company is involved in the development and construction of large-scale solar and energy storage projects across the United States.
“Helping to lead America towards a clean energy transition isn’t enough. We have to accomplish this effort sustainably and with awareness of the natural environment,” said Vitaly Lee, Chief Development Officer of Qcells USA Corp. “Qcells is striving to deliver projects that benefit the community and the environment, in addition to all other project stakeholders.”
Qcells committed to taking proactive and voluntary measures to minimize impacts on wildlife and habitat during the planning and development of the South Cheyenne Solar Facility. The company selected a facility site outside of crucial wildlife habitat ranges, in an area that provides relatively minimal wildlife and habitat value. Southern Power consulted with the department during the facility’s development stage and adopted various best-management practice recommendations to minimize impacts on wildlife. These measures included allowing pronghorn movement in and around the facility by incorporating open, unfenced areas between blocks of solar panel arrays and between the facility and South Greeley Highway. They also implemented monitoring and construction buffers of sensitive wildlife resources discovered during construction activities, such as swift fox dens and migratory bird nests.
Southern Power is a leading U.S. wholesale energy provider, primarily engaged in the acquisition, development, ownership and operation of power generation assets.
“Southern Power is honored to receive the award. This recognition not only honors our efforts but also reaffirms our commitment to environmental stewardship,” said Keith Harrison, General Manager of Environmental Affairs at Southern Power. “As long-standing partners in the region, we believe our role is to contribute positively to the communities we serve and to the habitats we share with wildlife.”
Southern Power took the initiative to partner with wildlife researchers to better understand wildlife interactions at solar facilities impacts. In a novel approach for Wyoming renewable energy facilities, Southern Power is actively using scent dogs to monitor for collision mortality of birds at the solar facility. This data will provide the department with important insight into the wildlife impacts at its solar site and the overall effectiveness of canine mortality monitoring. In a forward-thinking manner, the company has worked with the department to retrofit fencing to further avoid any risk of big game entanglement and added fence markers to avoid bird collisions in high-risk areas.
“Both of these companies take a multi-faceted, collaborative approach to conservation and go above and beyond with their thoughtful planning and monitoring processes,” Nesvik said. “Their approach to land stewardship exemplifies the kind of wins that can be accomplished for wildlife and habitat when we all work together.”
