November 9, 2017
Wildlife

Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Bats: Implications for Conservation

Arnett, Edward; and Baerwald, Erin

Abstract —
At a time of growing concern over the rising costs and long-term environmental impacts from the use of fossil fuels, wind energy has become an increasingly important sector of the electrical power industry. However, large numbers of bats are being killed at utility-scale wind energy facilities, and these fatalities raise important concerns about cumulative impacts of proposed wind energy development on bat populations. We discuss our current state of knowledge on patterns of bat fatalities at wind facilities, present new information on cumulative fatalities in the USA and Canada, and present findings from mitigation studies. Given the magnitude and extent of fatalities of bats worldwide, the conservation implications of understanding and mitigating bat fatalities at wind energy facilities are critically important.

Edward B. Arnett, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Loveland, Colorado
Erin F. Baerwald, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Alberta

In: Rick A. Adams, Scott C. Pedersen (eds). Bat Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation [1]. Springer, New York, 2013; chapter 21, pp 435–456

Download original document: “Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Bats: Implications for Conservation [2]”

Presentation (view below): Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Bats: Implications for Conservation [3]

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/documents/impacts-of-wind-energy-development-on-bats-implications-for-conservation/

URLs in this post:

[1] Bat Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation: https://docs.wind-watch.org/Bat_Evolution_Ecology_Conservation.pdf

[2] Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Bats: Implications for Conservation: https://docs.wind-watch.org/Arnett-Baerwald-2013-impacts-wind-energy-bats.pdf

[3] Presentation (view below): Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Bats: Implications for Conservation: https://docs.wind-watch.org/Arnett_Baerwald_Bats_presentation.pdf