Regulations focus on significant threats to the species so conservation efforts can be focused where they have the greatest effect.
Wind energy industry announces new voluntary practices to reduce overall impacts on bats by 30%
The U.S. wind energy industry announced, on the eve of National Wildlife Day, a best management practice establishing a new voluntary operating protocol, which is expected to reduce impacts to bats from operating wind turbines by as much as 30%. The agreement, developed by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) with the initial support of…
Artificial bat roost sleeps 450, keeps them away from restricted areas
Why bats are attracted to working wind turbines is still something of a mystery. One theory is that they perceive the turning rotors as swaying trees. Their vision is OK but their echolocation has a maximum range of only 20 to 40 ft at best, sometimes causing them to collide with the rotor they don’t…
Protecting wildlife at wind energy plants with 3D ultrasonic whistle
Biologists at Texas A&M University are partnering with scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst at the interdisciplinary intersection of energy research and wildlife protection in a federally funded project to design and manufacture ultrasonic, whistle-like pulse generators to help bats and other wildlife steer clear of wind turbines. Michael Smotherman, an associate professor in…
Energy Department announces new projects to help protect wildlife at wind energy plants
The Energy Department has announced more than $1.75 million for five projects that will develop and demonstrate technologies to reduce the potential impacts of wind farms on sensitive bat species. A current challenge facing wind energy developers in the United States is how to protect wildlife while responsibly deploying and operating this reliable source of…
Wind turbine or tree? Some bats can’t tell
Certain bats may be approaching wind turbines after mistaking them for trees, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study, led by U.S. Geological Survey scientist Paul Cryan, was the first to use video surveillance cameras to watch bats for several months flying at night near experimentally manipulated wind turbines…
Guidelines a yardstick for measuring environmental impacts
In March, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released its “Final Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines,” which are intended to help wind energy project developers avoid and minimize impacts of land-based wind projects on wildlife and their habitats. These Guidelines are the culmination of work that began nearly five years ago with then-Secretary of the…