No single technology or approach can do the heavy lifting on preventing bird and bat collisions with wind turbines, and projects need to find site-specific solutions, a new review study has found.
researchers from Murdoch University’s Harry Butler Institute say that more work is needed on a combined approach that tailors choices to specific species with a range of technology options from radar to acoustic sensors.
“We found technologies designed to prevent bird and bat collisions were under-tested and there is no ‘silver bullet solution’ as such,” said Trish Fleming, a co-author of the paper published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.
“Future wind farm developments will need combined, site-specific strategies to maximise protection for local wildlife.”
That combination choice will depend on which species wind farm owners are obligated to protect. Switching off turbines, also known as curtailment, is the only proven solution to eliminating deaths, the paper found.
