Toward solving the global green–green dilemma between wind energy production and bat conservation 

Abstract—
Wind energy production is growing rapidly worldwide in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, wind energy production is not environmentally neutral. Negative impacts on volant animals, such as bats, include fatalities at turbines and habitat loss due to land-use change and displacement. Siting turbines away from ecologically sensitive areas and implementing measures to reduce fatalities are critical to protecting bat populations. Restricting turbine operations during periods of high bat activity is the most effective form of mitigation currently available to reduce fatalities. Compensating for habitat loss and offsetting mortality are not often practiced, because meaningful offsets are lacking. Legal frameworks to prevent or mitigate the negative impacts of wind energy on bats are absent in most countries, especially in emerging markets. Therefore, governments and lending institutions are key in reconciling wind energy production with biodiversity goals by requiring sufficient environmental standards for wind energy projects.

Christian C. Voigt and Carolin Scholz, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
Enrico Bernard, Laboratório de Ciência Aplicada a Conservação da Biodiversidade, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, in Recife, Brazil
Joe Chun-Chia Huang, Department of Life Science at the National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei City, Taiwan
Winifred F. Frick and Michael Whitby, Bat Conservation International, Austin, Texas
Christian Kerbiriou, Centre d’Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université Station Marine, Concarneau, France
Kate MacEwan, Western EcoSystems Technology, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Fiona Mathews, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, England
Armando Rodríguez-Durán, Universidad Interamericana, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Paul W. Webala, Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Maasai Mara University, Narok, Kenya
Justin Welbergen, The Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, Victoria, Australia

BioScience, 2024, 74, 240–252
doi: 10.1093/biosci/biae023

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