ecovoltaics
EK-oh-vol-TAY-iks
Definition
An approach to solar energy development that emphasizes habitat preservation and ecological integration by minimizing soil disturbance during construction.
Etymology
The word is a portmanteau blending 'eco-' (from the Greek oikos, meaning house or environment) and 'photovoltaics' (from the Greek phos, meaning light, and the unit of electromotive force, the volt).
In the news
In this article, the term describes a gentler construction method where vegetation was preserved rather than cleared, allowing the threecorner milkvetch to flourish within the solar farm.
At Nevada's 1.8-million-panel Gemini solar farm, a rare desert milkvetch produced eight times more flowers and ten times more fruit than plants outside, because the panel rows held rain in the soil long after the same Mojave sun had pulled it from open ground
Read the full article ↗ScienceBlog.com