An Overview on Methods to Assess Bird and Bat Collision Risk in Wind Farms

2017 ◽  
pp. 87-110
Author(s):  
Sandra Rodrigues ◽  
Luís Rosa ◽  
Miguel Mascarenhas
Keyword(s):  
Wind Farms ◽  
Collision Risk

Re-evaluation of collision risk at wind farms

2013 ◽  
Vol 157 ◽  
pp. 432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine S. Loew ◽  
Katherine E. Rollins ◽  
David K. Meyerholz ◽  
Angelo P. Capparella
Keyword(s):  
Wind Farms ◽  
Collision Risk

scholarly journals Vulnerability of northern gannets to offshore wind farms; seasonal and sex-specific collision risk and demographic consequences

2020 ◽  
Vol 162 ◽  
pp. 105196
Author(s):  
Jude V. Lane ◽  
Ruth Jeavons ◽  
Zoe Deakin ◽  
Richard B. Sherley ◽  
Christopher J. Pollock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Farms ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Collision Risk ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms

scholarly journals Methodological Procedure For Pre-Investment Wind Farm Ornithological Monitoring Based On Collision Risk Estimation

Ring ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-30
Author(s):  
Przemysław Busse
Keyword(s):  
Wind Farm ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Most Probable Number ◽  
Collision Risk ◽  
Field Methods ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Probable Number ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Number Of Individuals

ABSTRACT Even though the proportion of wind farm victims compared to general bird species mortality is relatively low, there is necessity to limit direct and indirect losses to the bird populations caused by this kind of human activity. Estimation of threats to the birds resulting from building of wind farms is a very difficult task and it must take into account several constrains. The basic task is to build farms in localities that are the safest to birds. This can be achieved by pre-investment monitoring and direct observations at the spot and then evaluation of potential threats and risks. Field methods typical for the studies on bird populations are usually applied in such monitoring. The procedure described below includes four steps: screening (starts the process and sets preliminary constrains of the location), monitoring (standardised data are collected at the location), estimations of potential collision risk and evaluation of the location. The key parameters determining collision risk of bird species are: (1) the number of individuals utilising the monitored area in different seasons, (2) air space utilization (height and directions of flights), as well as (3) characteristics of the species behaviour. The starting data set contains: species name, number of individuals, height of flight (three layers - below, in, above the rotor), and distance from the observer. The final estimation of the collision index (the most probable number of collisions per turbine a year) is based on (1) estimation of the total number of individuals that use the defined area during a year and (2) estimation of probability that the individual will collide. In the latter (i.e. 2) the most important is that birds can actively avoid passing through the rotor swept (active avoidance rate) and that even birds, which crossed the rotor swept area not necessarily will be killed. Calculations are performed for each species separately and then are summarised to get the farm index as well as season indices. Some values of indices for raptors studied at 76 localities in Poland are given in the table. The final evaluation of the site is made as shown in a parametric analysis table, discussion of cumulative and barrier effects and the discussion of species specific risk to species of high conservation concern.

scholarly journals Non-territorial GPS-tagged golden eagles Aquila chrysaetos at two Scottish wind farms: Avoidance influenced by preferred habitat distribution, wind speed and blade motion status

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0254159
Author(s):  
Alan H. Fielding ◽  
David Anderson ◽  
Stuart Benn ◽  
Roy Dennis ◽  
Matthew Geary ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Farm ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Rotor Blades ◽  
Collision Risk ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Preferred Habitat ◽  
Wind Farm Design ◽  
Golden Eagles ◽  
Before And After

Wind farms can have two broad potential adverse effects on birds via antagonistic processes: displacement from the vicinity of turbines (avoidance), or death through collision with rotating turbine blades. These effects may not be mutually exclusive. Using detailed data from 99 turbines at two wind farms in central Scotland and thousands of GPS-telemetry data from dispersing golden eagles, we tested three hypotheses. Before-and-after-operation analyses supported the hypothesis of avoidance: displacement was reduced at turbine locations in more preferred habitat and with more preferred habitat nearby. After-operation analyses (i.e. from the period when turbines were operational) showed that at higher wind speeds and in highly preferred habitat eagles were less wary of turbines with motionless blades: rejecting our second hypothesis. Our third hypothesis was supported, since at higher wind speeds eagles flew closer to operational turbines; especially–once more–turbines in more preferred habitat. After operation, eagles effectively abandoned inner turbine locations, and flight line records close to rotor blades were rare. While our study indicated that whole-wind farm functional habitat loss through avoidance was the substantial adverse impact, we make recommendations on future wind farm design to minimise collision risk further. These largely entail developers avoiding outer turbine locations which are in and surrounded by swathes of preferred habitat. Our study illustrates the insights which detailed case studies of large raptors at wind farms can bring and emphasises that the balance between avoidance and collision can have several influences.

scholarly journals Bird and bat species' global vulnerability to collision mortality at wind farms revealed through a trait-based assessment

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1862) ◽  
pp. 20170829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris B. Thaxter ◽  
Graeme M. Buchanan ◽  
Jamie Carr ◽  
Stuart H. M. Butchart ◽  
Tim Newbold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Dispersal Distance ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Energy Output ◽  
Collision Rate ◽  
Collision Risk ◽  
Unit Energy

Mitigation of anthropogenic climate change involves deployments of renewable energy worldwide, including wind farms, which can pose a significant collision risk to volant animals. Most studies into the collision risk between species and wind turbines, however, have taken place in industrialized countries. Potential effects for many locations and species therefore remain unclear. To redress this gap, we conducted a systematic literature review of recorded collisions between birds and bats and wind turbines within developed countries. We related collision rate to species-level traits and turbine characteristics to quantify the potential vulnerability of 9538 bird and 888 bat species globally. Avian collision rate was affected by migratory strategy, dispersal distance and habitat associations, and bat collision rates were influenced by dispersal distance. For birds and bats, larger turbine capacity (megawatts) increased collision rates; however, deploying a smaller number of large turbines with greater energy output reduced total collision risk per unit energy output, although bat mortality increased again with the largest turbines. Areas with high concentrations of vulnerable species were also identified, including migration corridors. Our results can therefore guide wind farm design and location to reduce the risk of large-scale animal mortality. This is the first quantitative global assessment of the relative collision vulnerability of species groups with wind turbines, providing valuable guidance for minimizing potentially serious negative impacts on biodiversity.

Towards a cumulative collision risk assessment of local and migrating birds in North Sea offshore wind farms

Hydrobiologia ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 756 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Brabant ◽  
Nicolas Vanermen ◽  
Eric W. M. Stienen ◽  
Steven Degraer
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Collision Risk ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
Migrating Birds

Collision Risk Analysis for Offshore Structures and Offshore Wind Farms

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Povel
Keyword(s):  
Risk Analysis ◽  
Risk Control ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Offshore Structures ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Platforms ◽  
Approval Process ◽  
Collision Risk ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms

For the approval process of offshore platforms and offshore wind farms, risk analyses that consider collisions between ships and stationary offshore structures are helpful and sometimes necessary. Ship traffic, meteorological and hydrological data are important input information for the investigated sea area. Possible collision scenarios with powered ships sailing into the structures and disabled ships drifting into the structures have to be investigated to determine the collision probabilities and the consequences. Furthermore, risk control measures have to be examined and assessed in such risk analyses. In recent years, Germanischer Lloyd has developed and applied suitable methods and procedures to evaluate the collision risk, including the influence of risk control measures. For these analyses, Germanischer Lloyd developed an analysis software that uses Monte Carlo simulations. For the evaluation of different risk control measures, Bayesian nets are used to determine the reduction of the collision probabilities for powered and drifting vessels and the corresponding risk. In this paper, the methods and processes that were developed are presented together with results of a sample collision risk analysis. Moreover, experience in the practical application of collision risk analyses is discussed, as part of the approval process for offshore wind farms.

Minimizing Collision Risk Between Migrating Raptors and Marine Wind Farms: Development of a Spatial Planning Tool

2010 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 801-808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anette Jægerfeldt Baisner ◽  
Jonas Lembcke Andersen ◽  
Anders Findsen ◽  
Simon Wilhelm Yde Granath ◽  
Karin Ølgaard Madsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Planning ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Planning Tool ◽  
Collision Risk

scholarly journals Investigation on Improving Strategies for Navigation Safety in the Offshore Wind Farm in Taiwan Strait

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1448
Author(s):  
Yuh-Ming Tsai ◽  
Cherng-Yuan Lin
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Flow ◽  
Wind Power ◽  
Fault Tree Analysis ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Collision Risk ◽  
Tree Analysis ◽  
Offshore Wind Power ◽  
Open Sea ◽  
Navigation Safety

The Taiwan Strait, to the west of Taiwan, is rich in wind energy resources and has the greatest offshore wind power potential in the world. Therefore, Taiwan has been actively expanding its offshore wind power industry in this area in recent years and expects to achieve the total installed capacity to 15.6 GW by 2035. Due to the large vessel traffic flow in Western Taiwan’s sea area, wind farms will inevitably reduce the navigable space and shadow some existing marine aids to navigation, thus worsening navigation safety. An approach using a fault tree analysis was used to carry out analysis of collision risk between ship-to-ship and ship-to-turbine. The vessel density distribution and traffic flow within the open sea of offshore wind farms would further increase to curtail the available navigable space. The shadowing effects along navigation channels would thereafter be worsened to raise the probability of collision risks in the sea. The results of the fault tree analysis revealed that if the ship is out of control, the time allowed to provide assistance is rather short, leading to the increase of collision risk extent between ships and wind turbines. Moreover, the study also found that unfit functions of the Vessel Traffic Service System and navigation aids and frequently and arbitrarily crossing the navigation channel of fishery vessels are the main causes of ship collisions. In order to effectively improve the navigation safety, competitive strategies for navigation safety are investigated and evaluated in this study. These strategies include making a complete plan for utilizing the whole sea, integrating the offshore vessel traffic service and management system, providing remote pilotage services, and building salvage vessels. The above promising strategies would enhance the navigation safety within the open sea. Collision risk might occur once marine accident occurs and no salvage vessel is available.

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