Arkansas installs 96 solar panels on a rice reservoir along the Mississippi Flyway, leaving researchers watching the birds

A small floating solar installation in Arkansas could offer a way to expand renewable energy without taking farmland out of production. It also presents researchers with a distinctive question: how will ducks, geese and other migratory birds react when they encounter the panels?

The experiment is taking place at the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station in Stuttgart. Researchers installed 96 floating panels across just 0.01 acres of a 40-acre agricultural water reservoir. The 70-kilowatt system therefore uses a tiny portion of the site while leaving land suitable for rice cultivation available.

The location sits along the Mississippi Flyway, one of North America’s main natural routes for migratory birds. The US Geological Survey includes 14 US states and three Canadian provinces in the flyway. Around 60% of migratory birds, representing about 350 species, pass through it. Rivers, lakes, swamps, flooded forests, wetlands and agricultural areas provide food and water along the route.

Researchers now want to measure not only how much electricity the floating system can produce, but also how birds respond to it. The flyway’s stopover areas face pressure from agricultural and urban expansion. One study cited by the USGS found that mallard populations in the Great Lakes region had fallen by more than 40% since 2000.

Michael Popp of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station said the project was not intended to convert farmland for solar use. Instead, he described a possible partnership among utilities, solar investors, farmers and policymakers. The floating panels may also reduce water evaporation by 25% to 50%. By blocking sunlight, they could reduce algae growth that fouls irrigation equipment. Because floating panels use a lower angle than land-based systems, they may also require less surface area to generate the same amount of power.

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The goal of the project is not to convert agricultural land for panel use, but to create a synergy between utilities, solar investors, farmers and policymakers.