Can wind turbines harm wildlife?
A key challenge facing the wind industry is the potential for turbines to adversely affect wild animals both directly, via collisions, as well as indirectly due to noise pollution, habitat loss, and reduced survival or reproduction. Among the most impacted wildlife are birds and bats, which by eating destructive insects provide billions of dollars of economic benefits to the country’s agricultural sector each year.
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A Methodology to Assess the National and Regional Impacts of U.S. Wind Energy Development on Birds and Bats
This scientific investigations report describes an effort by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that used research, monitoring data, and modeling to develop a methodology to assess both the current and future population-level consequences of wind energy development on species of birds and bats that are present in the United States during any part...
Diffendorfer, James E.; Beston, J.A.; Merrill, Matthew D.; Stanton, J.C.; Corum, M.D.; Loss, S.R.; Thogmartin, W.E.; Johnson, D.H.; Erickson, R.A.; Heist, K.W.
U.S. Geological Survey energy and wildlife research annual report for 2018
USGS scientists provide scientific information and options that land and resource managers and private industries can use to make decisions regarding the development of energy resources while protecting the health of ecosystems. Studies focus on delivering information to avoid, minimize, or mitigate the impacts of energy infrastructure on fish and...
Khalil, Mona
U.S. Geological Survey—Energy and wildlife research annual report for 2017
IntroductionTerrestrial and aquatic ecosystems provide valuable services to humans and are a source of clean water, energy, raw materials, and productive soils. The Nation’s food supply is more secure because of wildlife. For example, native pollinators enhance agricultural crops, and insect-eating bats provide pest control services worth billions...
Khalil, Mona
Collision and displacement vulnerability among marine birds of the California Current System associated with offshore wind energy infrastructure
With growing climate change concerns and energy constraints, there is an increasing need for renewable energy sources within the United States and globally. Looking forward, offshore wind-energy infrastructure (OWEI) has the potential to produce a significant proportion of the power needed to reach our Nation’s renewable energy goal. Offshore wind...
Adams, Josh; Kelsey, Emily C.; Felis, Jonathan J.; Pereksta, David M.
Prioritizing avian species for their risk of population-level consequences from wind energy development
Recent growth in the wind energy industry has increased concerns about its impacts on wildlife populations. Direct impacts of wind energy include bird and bat collisions with turbines whereas indirect impacts include changes in wildlife habitat and behavior. Although many species may withstand these effects, species that are long-lived with low...
Beston, Julie A.; Diffendorfer, James E.; Loss, Scott; Johnson, Douglas H.
Preliminary methodology to assess the national and regional impact of U.S. wind energy development on birds and bats
The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a methodology to assess the impacts of wind energy development on wildlife; it is a probabilistic, quantitative assessment methodology that can communicate to decision makers and the public the magnitude of these effects on species populations. The methodology is currently applicable to birds and bats,...
Diffendorfer, James E.; Beston, Julie A.; Merrill, Matthew D.; Stanton, J.C.; Corum, M.D.; Loss, Scott R.; Thogmartin, Wayne E.; Johnson, Douglas H.; Erickson, Richard A.; Heist, Kevin W. A comprehensive analysis of small-passerine fatalities from collisions with turbines at wind energy facilities
Small passerines, sometimes referred to as perching birds or songbirds, are the most abundant bird group in the United States (US) and Canada, and the most common among bird fatalities caused by collision with turbines at wind energy facilities. We used data compiled from 39 studies conducted in the US and Canada to estimate the annual rate of...
Erickson, Wallace P.; Wolfe, Melissa M.; Bay, Kimberly J.; Johnson, Douglas H.; Gehring, Joelle L.
Analysis of Surveys to Predict Eagle Interactions with Wind Energy Facilities
To minimize golden eagle fatalities in areas proposed for wind development, point count surveys are usually conducted to estimate bird use.
Mapping the Nation's Wind Turbines
There are more than 57,000 wind turbines across the United States, and a new tool allows you to get up close and personal with each one!
U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Energy Release Online Public Dataset and Viewer of U.S. Wind Turbine Locations and Characteristics
Today, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in partnership with DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the American Wind Energy Association, released the United States Wind Turbine Database (USWTDB) and the USWTDB Viewer to access this new public dataset.
Flight Response of California Condors to Inform Risk from Wind Turbines
Large soaring birds rely on topographic and weather conditions also preferred by wind facility developers.
Raptor Interactions with Wind Energy: Case Studies from Around the World
Attempts to measure and mitigate the effects of wind turbines on wildlife have been an integral part of wind energy development.
Wind Turbines Affect Behavior of Desert Tortoise Predators
How a wind energy facility is designed can influence the behavior of animal predators and their prey, according to a recent study published in The Journal of Wildlife Management by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and the U.S. Geological Survey.
A Deadly Double Punch: Together, Turbines and Disease Jeopardize Endangered Bats
Advancing Wind Energy and Avoiding Wildlife Conflicts
Our Nation works to advance renewable energy and to avoid conflicts with and conserve wildlife.
Local Wind Energy Development Has Broad Consequences for Golden Eagles
Roughly over a quarter of the golden eagles killed at the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area in Northern California from 2012-2014 were recent immigrants to the local population, according to research led by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Breeding Bird Distribution Affected by Wind Turbines in the Dakotas
New wind energy facilities placed in prime wildlife habitat in North and South Dakota can influence the distribution of several species of grassland birds for years after construction, including species whose populations are in serious decline.
Preliminary Wind Energy Impacts Assessment Methodology Released
USGS has released a preliminary methodology to assess the population level impacts of onshore wind energy development on birds and bats. This wind energy impacts assessment methodology is the first of its kind, evaluating national to regional scale impacts of those bats and birds that breed in and migrate through the United States.
Wind turbines at the Altamont Pass Wind Farm
The Altamont Pass Wind Far is located in northern California.
UV lights being tested as a deterrent for bats at wind turbines.
UV lights being tested as a deterrent for bats at wind turbines.
A bat that was killed by a wind turbine laying in the grass.
A bat that was killed by a wind turbine laying in the grass.
Sandhill Cranes Near Wind Turbines
Sandhill Cranes fly in close proximity to wind turbines near Horicon National Wildlife Refuge in east-central Wisconsin, but to date no crane mortality has been associated with turbines in this area.
A radio-tracked desert tortoise traverses at a wind energy facility
A radio-tracked adult desert tortoise traverses a hill at the southern edge of the wind energy facility near Palm Springs, California.
How a wind energy facility is designed can influence the behavior of animal predators and their prey, according to a recent study published in The
...
A radio-tracked tortoise basks in the sun among the wind turbines
A radio-tracked adult desert tortoise basks in the sun among the wind turbines at a wind energy facility near Palm Springs, California.
How a wind energy facility is designed can influence the behavior of animal predators and their prey, according to a recent study published in The
...
Bats and Wind Energy
USGS biologist Paul Cryan. Biologists hope to learn more about the scale and causes of bat fatalities at wind turbines by searching for carcasses of bats beneath turbines and carefully documenting the conditions under which they are found.
Wind Turbines
Wind turbines at certain sites in North America each cause dozens of bat fatalities per year.
Wind Turbine Blade
This photo shows one of the three 135-ft blades of a turbine before installation. Although the blades of wind turbines appear to move quite slowly to the human eye, blade tips often move at speeds faster than 100 mph.
Bat approaching wind turbine GIF 2
This GIF uses thermal imagery to show a bat approaching a wind turbine tower.