Vultures, eagles, and bats are facing a big problem. The exact same areas they enjoy, where air currents along enormous peaks lift them as they soar, are great places for wind farm developers.
Wind turbines are a valuable source of environmentally friendly, renewable electricity. They're exceeding even natural gas as one of the fastest-growing electricity sources in the United States. But, unfortunately, they also kill birds and bats on occasion.
This may appear to be a Catch-22 situation in terms of the environment, but it isn't. Many American wind farms are experimenting with various ways to make their turbines safer for flying species, from improved designs and better placement to high-tech tracking systems and ultrasonic "boom boxes."
Related Article: Wind Energy Company To Breed California Condors, Replace Those Killed by Turbines
Here are five strategies to keep bats and birds safe while ensuring that the wind power industry thrives:
Finding Safer Locations
The most straightforward strategy to keep birds and bats away from wind turbines is to avoid placing them in areas where they are known to fly. But it's not always so straightforward because many of the vast, treeless stretches that attract birds and bats are also ideal for wind harvesting.
According to the American Bird Conservancy, already-altered ecosystems like food farms offer acceptable turbine sites for wildlife, but any environment designated as an "Important Bird Area" should be avoided. These include wetlands and ridge margins, migratory bottlenecks and flight lines used by endangered or decreasing species, and migratory bottlenecks and flight pathways utilized by endangered or decreasing species.
Using Different Colors
The majority of wind turbines are painted white or gray to make them as unobtrusive as possible. However, in a 2010 study, researchers discovered that white paint can indirectly attract birds and bats by attracting the flying insects they seek. According to the study, white and gray turbines were second only to yellow turbines in attracting insects such as flies, moths, butterflies, and beetles.
Humans are blind to UV radiation, but many other animals, including bats, can see it. Migrating bats may confuse wind turbine poles for trees, according to some studies. So researchers are looking at how low-powered UV lights atop wind turbines might warn bats of impending danger from afar. Before bats approach too close, the lights might advertise, "this is frightening."
Installing Ultra Sonic Speakers
Birds are mostly visual creatures, but the sound may provide a technique to keep them away from wind farms because bats travel through echolocation. Ultrasonic "boom boxes," which may be mounted to turbines and create continuous, high-frequency noises between 20 and 100 kilohertz, are based on this concept.
Researchers stated in a 2013 study that bats' sonar is good enough to work past such interference. Boom-box turbines killed between 21% and 51% fewer bats than turbines that did not include the feature. However, the study's authors stated that several technological challenges must be overcome before the methodology can be widely used.
Utilizing New Designs
Wind turbines' construction might be tweaked to drastically lessen the harm they cause to birds and bats, in addition to fresh paint and terrifying lights. In recent years, engineers have developed a broad range of wildlife-friendly designs, ranging from minor tweaks to overhauls that scarcely resemble a standard wind turbine.
Researchers discovered that the size of the turbine and the length of the blades might have a significant effect on the Energy Science study. According to the study's authors, just putting the turbines higher and the blades shorter minimizes the impact on birds. Therefore, they propose that wind-energy policy should promote larger turbine heights and shorter blades to protect birds in addition to limiting turbine sites.
Developing Sensors
Oregon State University researchers create sensors that can detect when anything touches a wind turbine blade, allowing operators to prevent more collisions by shutting down turbines. With such sensors, which researchers are putting to the test by shooting tennis balls at turbine blades, cameras might be fitted on turbines to show operators if birds or bats are there.
Also Read: The World's Biggest Owls Are Now Endangered: Is it too late to save them?
For more animal related news, don't forget to follow Nature World News!