Abstract
The development of renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines forms a vital part of strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Although large wind farms generate the majority of wind energy, the small wind turbine (SWT, units generating <50 kW) sector is growing rapidly. In spite of evidence of effects of large wind farms on birds and bats, effects of SWTs on wildlife have not been studied and are likely to be different due to their potential siting in a wider range of habitats. We present the first study to quantify the effects of SWTs on birds and bats. Using a field experiment, we show that bird activity is similar in two distance bands surrounding a sample of SWTs (between 6–18 m hub height) and is not affected by SWT operation at the fine scale studied. At shorter distances from operating turbines (0–5 m), bat activity (measured as the probability of a bat “pass” per hour) decreases from 84% (71–91%) to 28% (11–54%) as wind speed increases from 0 to 14 m/s. This effect is weaker at greater distances (20–25 m) from operating turbines (activity decreases from 80% (65–89%) to 59% (32–81%)), and absent when they are braked. We conclude that bats avoid operating SWTs but that this effect diminishes within 20 m. Such displacement effects may have important consequences especially in landscapes where suitable habitat is limiting. Planning guidance for SWTs is currently lacking. Based on our results we recommend that they are sited at least 20 m away from potentially valuable bat habitat.
Highlights
Increasing awareness of global climate change has led to the rapid proliferation of government targets worldwide to reduce carbon emissions
Because of the key importance of wind speed in the analysis presented here, we confirmed that measurements from weather stations were appropriate proxies for the conditions at the turbine sites by correlating wind speed estimated on the Beaufort scale during a sub-sample of the vantage point observations (VPs) (N = 85) to the corresponding wind speed measured at the nearest weather station (Pearson correlation, r = 0.525, df = 84, t = 5.65, p,0.001)
While we found no independent effects of either small wind turbines (SWTs) proximity, the model was significantly improved by an effect of operation dependent on wind speed, which in turn was modulated by turbine proximity
Summary
Increasing awareness of global climate change has led to the rapid proliferation of government targets worldwide to reduce carbon emissions (e.g. in the Kyoto protocol). The renewable energy sector has grown rapidly over the last few decades, with wind power forming a major component of this increase. Over 197 GW of power are generated by wind turbines worldwide [1]. In the UK, small wind turbines (SWTs) are legally defined as units that can generate up to 50 kW [2]. SWTs are installed singly, and dimensions can vary but the majority of units installed in the UK range from 6 to 12 m hub height [3]. The number of installed SWTs has grown rapidly over the past decade, with over 16,000 units installed between 2005–2010 in the UK alone, generating over 40 MW [3]. In the US, total installed SWT capacity reached 170 MW [4] in 2010, with global capacity totalling over 440 MW [5]
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