The effect of wind turbines on bats in Britain

The increase in wind energy production has been relatively rapid and is expected to continue at a global scale. However, numbers of bat carcasses found at wind turbines in North America in the early 21st century raised concern about the plight of this taxon with the growth in wind-energy generation. This led to carcass searches for bats becoming commonplace at wind farms globally. However, few large scale systematic studies have assessed the effects of wind turbines on bats, especially for species considered potentially at higher risk in Europe. In this thesis the number and species of bats killed from wind farms were estimated across Britain, and the important predictors (i.e. activity, turbine characteristics and habitat) of fatality were determined. Insect abundance, biomass and bat activity was also quantified at turbine and control locations, to assess if insects and hence bats were attracted to turbines. In addition, assessments were made of the effects of increasing temporal and spatial replication of acoustic monitoring on estimates of species composition and bat activity. This was assessed for activity monitored at ground and at the centre of the rotor sweep area (the nacelle). Carcass searches were conducted using trained search dogs and concurrently bats were surveyed acoustically at three randomly selected turbines at ground and from the nacelle at 48 wind farms throughout Britain. Bats were also monitored acoustically at paired controls (with a randomly selected turbine) at 20 of the wind farms sites. In addition, nocturnal Diptera were sampled at 18 of the sites using a paired turbine and control design. Across 139 wind turbines, 188,335 bat passes were recorded and 2,973 carcass searches performed. Edge and open aerial foraging species, in particular Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus were most at risk of fatality 4 at wind farms in Britain. The number of Pipistrellus pipistrellus killed annually in Britain between mid-July and mid-October was estimated at 2,373 95% CI 513 to 4,233 and the number of P. pygmaeus at 3,082 95% CI 1,270 to 4,894. When compared to population estimates, the number of Pipistrellus pygmaeus killed was 57% higher than the number of P. pipistrellus killed (0.19% of the population versus 0.43%, respectively). This may be due to Pipistrellus pygmaeus flying more often within the rotor sweep area compared to P. pipistrellus. Activity measured at the nacelle, which is generally assumed to be a better predictor of fatalities, was not a significant predictor of the probability of a fatality for all species combined, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, or P. pygmaeus. Pipistrellus pipistrellus activity and P. pygmaeus activity, measured at ground level were not good predictors of their respective fatalities. Whilst there was some evidence that Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus activity monitored at ground level, was a significant predictor of the probability of their respective fatalities occurring, across wide ranging turbine types, fatality estimates were large. This is presumably due to the importance of turbine characterises (the wind speed that turbines become operational (cut-in speeds) turbine and the distance between the ground and blade tip at the bottom of the rotor sweep area) both being important negative predictors of fatalities for Pipistrellus pipistrellus. Predicting from models, if the cut-in speed is increased from 3.5 to 5 m s-1 the number of Pipistrellus pipistrellus fatalities would be reduced by 76% (0.23 fatalities per turbine per month to 0.06). These findings have important implications for guidance, since activity is the ubiquitous measure used to assess fatality risk for all species. Since, Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus were detected at 98% and 92% of sites respectively; it could be 5 assumed that these species would be detected at the majority of wind farms within their range. Therefore, in a British context, curtailing wind turbines below 5 m s-1 could be an effective mitigation strategy without the costly requirement to monitor activity. Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus activity was 46% (6.3 ± 1.3 SE mean passes per night c.f. 3.4 ± 1.3 SE) and 34% (4.0 ± 1.4 SE c.f. 2.7 ± 1.4 SE) higher at turbines compared to controls, respectively. Given that habitat and elevation were consistent between paired turbines and controls and monitoring was conducted on the same nights, higher activity at turbines compared to controls provides evidence that these two species are attracted to wind turbines. Furthermore, since the biomass of nocturnal Diptera, the main insect prey for Pipistrellus spp., was higher at controls compared to turbines, and bat foraging at turbines was not predicted by insect abundance or biomass, attraction is unlikely to be due to insects. Evidence presented here shows that bats are attracted to turbines, and therefore measuring activity at pre-construction sites for environmental impact assessments is unlikely to be effective. In conclusion, these results provide further evidence that common species are killed but generally in relatively low numbers, they also support the view that monitoring activity for assessing fatality risk at wind farms is ineffective. It is imperative that wind energy is developed using an evidence based approach. However, it also important that wind energy continues to contribute to an increasing renewable energy sector. In conclusion, results presented here, support that wind turbines are likely to be having a small impact on bat populations in Britain.Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department of Energy & Climate Change, Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, Scottish Natural Heritage, and RenewableU

The Role of Community Values in Wind Energy Development: Exploring the Benefits and Applications of Community Wind for Reducing Local Opposition to Wind Energy Systems

Worldwide, wind energy generation is growing rapidly as a cleaner and less invasive alternative to traditional fossil-fuel energy sources. Yet, in the United States, the advancement of wind energy has been stunted by three factors: (1) the uncertainty of the federal Production Tax Credit; (2) the lack of transmission lines connecting wind projects to electricity grids; and (3) enduring local cultural and aesthetic objections to wind turbines. Frustrated with the imbalanced allocation of costs and benefits imposed by most wind energy projects, some individuals and municipalities have deployed zoning laws, nuisance claims, or environmentalist arguments to discourage wind energy development in their area. “Community wind” is a model of wind energy generation that improves residents’ perception of turbines by using local ownership, services and utility grids to concentrate the economic benefits of wind power in the communities that produce it. This paper sets forth a proposal for applying the community wind model in a suburban context, through the mechanism of the homeowner’s association (HOA). HOAs are uniquely situated to implement community wind to lower their energy costs, provide affordable housing, enhance local schools, and shift Americans’ perception of wind farms in a more positive direction

Predicting and Managing Risk to Bats at Commercial Wind Farms using Acoustics

Bat populations in North America face novel threats from white-nose syndrome and widespread turbine-related mortality related to the rapidly expanding wind power industry in addition to long-standing pressures from habitat loss and degradation. Bats, unlike most small mammals, are long-lived and slow to reproduce, highlighting the importance of understanding and managing anthropogenic sources of mortality. My dissertation research used acoustic bat detectors to measure bat activity at commercial wind projects, predict patterns in risk, and design strategic measures to reduce fatality rates by curtailing turbine operation during periods when bats are most active. Bats collide with wind turbines only when their rotors are spinning, and risk of turbine-related fatality is therefore a dynamic factor that can be manipulated by curtailing turbine operation when bats are active. We first measured inter-detector variation in metrics of acoustic bat activity to understand how the acoustic detection process may affect inferences related to spatial and temporal variation in bat activity. Using acoustic detectors mounted on top of wind turbines at two commercial wind farms in West Virginia, we then demonstrated that the amount of bat activity recorded when turbines were operating aligned closely with bat fatality rates on multiple scales. Accordingly, the metric of bat activity exposed to turbine operation provides a meaningful, quantitative indicator of turbine-related bat fatality risk. Further, bats responded consistently to changing wind speed and temperature at turbines in both wind farms across multiple years, enabling exposed bat activity to be predicted accurately among turbines and years. Building on these results, we simulated exposure of bats to turbine operation and energy loss for curtailment strategies recommended by state and federal agencies in the United States and Canada. By adjusting parameters such as cut-in wind speeds and temperature thresholds, we demonstrated the ability to design strategic curtailment programs that achieve equivalent or greater predicted reductions in bat activity exposure for substantially less energy-production loss. Characterizing fatality risk on a finer scale using acoustics will help regulatory agencies and the wind industry alike reduce risks of population-level impacts to vulnerable bat species while continuing to expand large-scale renewable energy generation

The energy to engage: wind farm development and community engagement in Australia

This report reviews what is known about community engagement in wind energy industry and identify what we still need to understand. After briefly presenting the relationship between wind farms and society as a significant one, we will recapitulate what strains that relationship and how community engagement can address it. We will point out that divergent models of community engagement are currently available to analysts and practitioners; that companies around the world are increasingly shifting towards more collaborative forms of engagement; that Australian business in the wind energy industry and planning authorities have some catching-up to do if they are to align themselves with such a global trend; and that the gap between declarations of principle advocating tighter collaboration betweenwind farm developers and communities and the actual practice on the ground has left some critics wondering whether those declarations are just rhetorical stratagems geared to placate public opinion

The Spatial Aspects of the Wind Farms Impact on the Environment

At a time of increasing use of renewable energy sources in the production of electricity, including the expansion of wind energy, there is a need to examine the impact that projects in the field of renewable energy resources have on the environment. Although it is mainly the positive impact of projects in this field that are spoken and written about, and these are certainly indisputable, there are also certain negative implications of renewable energy projects. This is also the case with projects using green energy in wind farms. For this reason, special attention must be paid to the analysis and assessment of such impacts, as well as to responsible planning and optimal solutions for the spatial organization, by means of which effective environmental protection is achieved. This is where we arrive at the significance of applying strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in the planning and spatial organization of wind farms, with the aim of achieving preventive environmental protection. With regard to the role and significance of SEA as an instrument for steering the planning process towards the objectives of environmental protection, the application of SEA in the planning of wind farms stands as the optimal solution for the prevention of the negative effects of wind farms on environmental elements. Another argument supporting this statement is the fact that SEA is characterized by a holistic approach in which it is possible to see complex interactions and correlations in the space in which a wind farm project is planned, that is, the approach analyzes the spatial aspects of the impact of wind farms on the environment. This is precisely the theme of the book SPATIAL ASPECTS OF THE IMPACT OF WIND FARMS ON THE ENVIRONMENT. In addition to analyzing the possibilities and significance of applying SEA in preventive environmental protection when planning wind farms, the book pays special attention to a possible methodological approach in the evaluation of planning propositions. In this context, particular significance is given to the application of the semi‐quantitative expert qualitative method for the multi‐criteria evaluation of planning solutions, which also integrates so‐called partial approaches in evaluating the impact of individual environmental elements, and which can in the case of planning wind farms be based on specific simulation software models. The theoretical knowledge is applied to a specific example in the second half of the book, which contributes to the applicability of the researchSpecial editions 8

The Spatial Aspects of the Wind Farms Impact on the Environment

At a time of increasing use of renewable energy sources in the production of electricity, including the expansion of wind energy, there is a need to examine the impact that projects in the field of renewable energy resources have on the environment. Although it is mainly the positive impact of projects in this field that are spoken and written about, and these are certainly indisputable, there are also certain negative implications of renewable energy projects. This is also the case with projects using green energy in wind farms. For this reason, special attention must be paid to the analysis and assessment of such impacts, as well as to responsible planning and optimal solutions for the spatial organization, by means of which effective environmental protection is achieved. This is where we arrive at the significance of applying strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in the planning and spatial organization of wind farms, with the aim of achieving preventive environmental protection. With regard to the role and significance of SEA as an instrument for steering the planning process towards the objectives of environmental protection, the application of SEA in the planning of wind farms stands as the optimal solution for the prevention of the negative effects of wind farms on environmental elements. Another argument supporting this statement is the fact that SEA is characterized by a holistic approach in which it is possible to see complex interactions and correlations in the space in which a wind farm project is planned, that is, the approach analyzes the spatial aspects of the impact of wind farms on the environment. This is precisely the theme of the book SPATIAL ASPECTS OF THE IMPACT OF WIND FARMS ON THE ENVIRONMENT. In addition to analyzing the possibilities and significance of applying SEA in preventive environmental protection when planning wind farms, the book pays special attention to a possible methodological approach in the evaluation of planning propositions. In this context, particular significance is given to the application of the semi‐quantitative expert qualitative method for the multi‐criteria evaluation of planning solutions, which also integrates so‐called partial approaches in evaluating the impact of individual environmental elements, and which can in the case of planning wind farms be based on specific simulation software models. The theoretical knowledge is applied to a specific example in the second half of the book, which contributes to the applicability of the researchSpecial editions 8

Ecological and Sociological Considerations of Wind Energy: A Multidisciplinary Study

Wind energy is quickly becoming a critical technology for providing Americans with renewable energy, and rapid construction of wind facilities may have impacts on both wildlife and human communities. Understanding both the social and ecological issues related to wind energy development could provide a framework for effectively meeting human energy needs while conserving species biodiversity. In this research I looked at two aspects of wind energy development: public attitudes toward wind energy development and wind facility impacts on local bat populations. These papers present aspects of wind energy development that have been the subject of increasing study. This preliminary research is intended to demonstrate the responsibility we have to making well-informed decisions as we continue to expand wind energy development. Additionally, I hope to generate interest in interdisciplinary study as a means to broaden the scope of research by making use of the diverse tools available within different disciplines