Pronghorn Herds Avoided Wyoming Solar Facility

A 2025 study found wildlife movement declined near a large-scale solar array in the Red Desert.

Updated on Oct. 11, 2026 in Wildlife

Pronghorn Herds Avoided Wyoming Solar Facility

Live Poll

Should solar energy developers be required to adopt wildlife-friendly designs to protect local habitat?

Wyoming pronghorn herds significantly reduced their presence near the 700-acre Sweetwater solar facility following its construction. Research published in 2025 tracked the animals, showing a sharp drop in interactions with the site's perimeter fencing.

Why it matters

The study highlights how industrial solar infrastructure can create barriers for migratory wildlife in open rangelands. The findings suggest that current perimeter security measures effectively exclude pronghorn, forcing them to alter their historical movement patterns.

The 80-megawatt Sweetwater facility utilizes a 6.6-foot chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. Weekly encounters within a 328-foot threshold dropped from 0.90 to 0.05 per individual over the five-year study.

The players

Sweetwater solar facility

This is an 80-megawatt power plant located in the Red Desert region of Wyoming.

The details

Researchers equipped pronghorns in the Red Desert with GPS collars that recorded satellite coordinates every two hours to monitor movement during spring and summer months. The data indicated no signs of habituation to the infrastructure, as the animals consistently avoided the site throughout the entire five-year monitoring period.

April 1 to September 30 mark the spring and summer study periods.
2025 serves as the year the ecological study was published.

Culture Shift

This study reflects the broader tension between expanding renewable energy infrastructure and the preservation of critical wildlife habitats. It underscores a societal shift toward evaluating the ecological footprint of green energy projects in rural ecosystems.

For Wyoming residents, these findings provide essential information on how industrial projects shape the behavior of iconic state wildlife. This understanding may influence future land-use discussions and wildlife management strategies in the Red Desert.

The takeaway

Wildlife management experts may use these findings to design more permeable fencing for future solar projects in migratory corridors. Landowners and developers should consider these long-term avoidance patterns when planning utility-scale installations.