Energies Media
A grid of fenced solar panel fields crisscrosses the map of northwestern New Mexico, with GPS tracks circling them. In the case of bigger animals, a fence can mark the end of a path that was used for generations by the animals.
However, collared pronghorns near San Juan Solar were not just turned around. They moved closer and closer to the 1100-acre plant, penetrating the open land between the arrays.
They didn’t move around as we thought they would. There were some passages which were used quite often, and others which seemed equally appropriate on a map, but were not.
That gap is important because large-scale solar is spreading throughout the American West from where wildlife habitat is available.
The San Juan Solar project tracked pronghorn using GPS collars.GPS collars were used to monitor pronghorn movements around San Juan Solar.
In 2024, Wildlands Network started studying pronghorn as San Juan Solar was being built in northwestern New Mexico.
In two study areas, researchers equipped 75 GPS collars on female pronghorn. Collars were used to track movement of the collars prior to and following the project during that fall.
The objectives were to determine the impact that a large solar facility could have on the capacity for the animals to access landscape elements such as food, water, seasonal habitat, and other elements of the landscape.
The majority of this concern is related to fencing. Barriers—things pronghorn, deer, and elk cannot easily pass over—surround utility-scale solar projects.
Rows of panels can also divide the long open vistas that pronghorn use to see predators and to monitor other animals.
The facility was split into several arrays of roads, private property and dry washes, with open strips of land between.
There were some wide open spaces. Others were tall and slender.
That arrangement provided an unprecedented opportunity for researchers to observe pronghorn travel along which paths.
On a blueprint, a corridor might be a helpful feature, but if animals aren’t willing to go through it, it’s not a corridor.
The first surprise was outside the fences. Nearly all of the collared females that lived close to San Juan Solar did not stay away from the facility completely.
They did not find any distinct boundaries where pronghorns abruptly halted their use of the nearby habitat. The animals continued to move towards the fences and ran with the working arrays.
This is important because a fenced project can have an impact on a much larger area than the area it is in. A known road can divide pasture from water or may isolate the animals from seasonal grazing.
The idea of open spaces between arrays appeared to be one answer, but the pronghorn were not equally utilizing these spaces.
The greatest amount of movement was typically in the widest corridors.
One route was not taking that form, though.
Although the other narrow passages were mostly neglected, the pronghorn repeated used the narrowest passage at the site.
They were also skirting in the largest corridor. GPS tracks were concentrated in some areas and in others virtually no use was made of apparently open areas.
A space that appeared to be adequate on a map may not have been in all places.
What factors were influencing their decision making? What influences were they influenced by?
The pronghorn seemed to evaluate each route simultaneously on a number of factors: distance, topography, visibility, and access to locations it had to travel to.
The passage that was the narrowest was also the shortest. It provided a direct access to parts of the landscape, which were valuable, while not requiring the animals to spend a lot of time either between or at the fences.
That is, if it gave animals access to a location of value to them, and enabled them to cross rapidly, even if it was a narrow corridor.
The widest passage illustrated the danger of being misled by width.
This open area was cut through by a deeply eroded arroyo and solar fencing was installed near the western edge of that arroyo. Pronghorn were seen very few times in the narrow strip of land between the fence and the wash.
They also skipped areas that were divided by the smaller channels, shrubs and loose sand.
In those parts, there was a place to cross, but it wasn’t always possible, or convenient, to cross.
When there was “available space” to get from point A to point B, it did not necessarily seem like there was room on the ground.
The results could have important implications for future solar development projects.The findings may have implications for future solar projects.
Initial results indicate that solar developers should be asking more than what the width of the wildlife corridor should be.
Prior to fencing, water sources, forage, existing travelways, slopes, washes, roads, vegetation and sightlines should be studied.
Even if a wide corridor is not possible a natural obstacle can cause a wide corridor to fail if animals are trapped between a fence and hard to access terrain. Additional space in certain areas may be most important close to water or other resources critical to a water project.
They are from one facility in one landscape and pronghorn in other landscapes may respond differently.
The passages also do not make up for the habitat covered by panels and fencing. The project area has been identified as valuable pronghorn habitat, with less habitat available.
The only animals we need to worry about are those in the landscape that are there already, so it is important to build wildlife corridors around them, not around the spaces between solar panels.
The GPS tracks no longer appear as random loops through an industrial area on this map, but as a path.
The distance, terrain, visibility, water, and safety are all choices for each turn. It is an ancient knowledge of landscape, combined with a new development of energy infrastructure.
While the animals could not be stopped from moving, they were diverted from their paths by San Juan Solar.
Potential projects could try to ensure more of those routes are retained by taking wildlife movement into account before the first fence is installed.
The hopeful image is not one of pronghorns becoming accustomed to any obstacle they confront.
It is a solar facility with sufficient care taken that they can navigate through it.
Daniel García is an Editor-in-Chief with strong expertise in structural work and engineering principles. He combines this technical foundation with deep knowledge of energy, spatial design, and emerging technologies, bringing a forward-thinking and analytical approach to editorial leadership.
Daniel García is an Editor-in-Chief with strong expertise in structural work and engineering principles. He combines this technical foundation with deep knowledge of energy, spatial design, and emerging technologies, bringing a forward-thinking and analytical approach to editorial leadership.
Daniel García is an Editor-in-Chief with strong expertise in structural work and engineering principles. He combines this technical foundation with deep knowledge of energy, spatial design, and emerging technologies, bringing a forward-thinking and analytical approach to editorial leadership.

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