Wind turbines without curtailment produce large numbers of bat fatalities throughout their lifetime: A call against ignorance and neglect
Bats are protected by national and international legislation in European countries, yet many species, particularly migratory aerial insectivores, collide with wind turbines which counteracts conservation efforts. Within the European Union it is legally required to curtail the operation of wind turbi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989422001512 |
| _version_ | 1818211727515320320 |
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| author | Christian C. Voigt Klara Kaiser Samantha Look Kristin Scharnweber Carolin Scholz |
| author_facet | Christian C. Voigt Klara Kaiser Samantha Look Kristin Scharnweber Carolin Scholz |
| author_sort | Christian C. Voigt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Bats are protected by national and international legislation in European countries, yet many species, particularly migratory aerial insectivores, collide with wind turbines which counteracts conservation efforts. Within the European Union it is legally required to curtail the operation of wind turbines at periods of high bat activity, yet this is not practiced at old wind turbines. Based on data from the national carcass repository in Germany and from our own carcass searches at a wind park with three turbines west of Berlin, we evaluated the magnitude of bat casualties at old, potentially poor-sited wind turbines operating without curtailment. We report 88 documented bat carcasses collected by various searchers over the 20-year operation period of this wind park from 2001 to 2021. Common noctule bats (Nyctalus noctula) and common pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) were most often found dead at these turbines. Our search campaign in August and September 2021 yielded a total of 18 carcasses. We estimated that at least 209 bats were likely killed during our field survey, yielding more than 70 casualties/wind turbine or 39 casualties/MW in two months. Since our campaign covered only part of the migration season, we consider this value as an underestimate. The 20-year period of the wind park emphasises the substantial impact old turbines may have on bat individuals and populations when operating without curtailments. We call for reconsidering the operation procedures of old wind turbines to stop the continuous loss of bats in Germany and other countries where turbine curtailments are even less practiced than in Germany. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T05:37:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e697078adf5e4669bcf4831cf17a8d11 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T05:37:06Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj.art-e697078adf5e4669bcf4831cf17a8d112022-12-22T00:36:05ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942022-09-0137e02149Wind turbines without curtailment produce large numbers of bat fatalities throughout their lifetime: A call against ignorance and neglectChristian C. Voigt0Klara Kaiser1Samantha Look2Kristin Scharnweber3Carolin Scholz4Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany; Corresponding author.Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 1–3, 14195 Berlin, GermanyFreie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 1–3, 14195 Berlin, GermanyUniversität Potsdam, Am Mühlenberg 3, 14476 Potsdam, GermanyLeibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany; Universität Potsdam, Am Mühlenberg 3, 14476 Potsdam, GermanyBats are protected by national and international legislation in European countries, yet many species, particularly migratory aerial insectivores, collide with wind turbines which counteracts conservation efforts. Within the European Union it is legally required to curtail the operation of wind turbines at periods of high bat activity, yet this is not practiced at old wind turbines. Based on data from the national carcass repository in Germany and from our own carcass searches at a wind park with three turbines west of Berlin, we evaluated the magnitude of bat casualties at old, potentially poor-sited wind turbines operating without curtailment. We report 88 documented bat carcasses collected by various searchers over the 20-year operation period of this wind park from 2001 to 2021. Common noctule bats (Nyctalus noctula) and common pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) were most often found dead at these turbines. Our search campaign in August and September 2021 yielded a total of 18 carcasses. We estimated that at least 209 bats were likely killed during our field survey, yielding more than 70 casualties/wind turbine or 39 casualties/MW in two months. Since our campaign covered only part of the migration season, we consider this value as an underestimate. The 20-year period of the wind park emphasises the substantial impact old turbines may have on bat individuals and populations when operating without curtailments. We call for reconsidering the operation procedures of old wind turbines to stop the continuous loss of bats in Germany and other countries where turbine curtailments are even less practiced than in Germany.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989422001512Green-green dilemmaWind energy bat conflictWildlife casualties |
| spellingShingle | Christian C. Voigt Klara Kaiser Samantha Look Kristin Scharnweber Carolin Scholz Wind turbines without curtailment produce large numbers of bat fatalities throughout their lifetime: A call against ignorance and neglect Global Ecology and Conservation Green-green dilemma Wind energy bat conflict Wildlife casualties |
| title | Wind turbines without curtailment produce large numbers of bat fatalities throughout their lifetime: A call against ignorance and neglect |
| title_full | Wind turbines without curtailment produce large numbers of bat fatalities throughout their lifetime: A call against ignorance and neglect |
| title_fullStr | Wind turbines without curtailment produce large numbers of bat fatalities throughout their lifetime: A call against ignorance and neglect |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wind turbines without curtailment produce large numbers of bat fatalities throughout their lifetime: A call against ignorance and neglect |
| title_short | Wind turbines without curtailment produce large numbers of bat fatalities throughout their lifetime: A call against ignorance and neglect |
| title_sort | wind turbines without curtailment produce large numbers of bat fatalities throughout their lifetime a call against ignorance and neglect |
| topic | Green-green dilemma Wind energy bat conflict Wildlife casualties |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989422001512 |
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