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Wind Power News: Bats
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Turbine blades pose ‘substantial threat’ to migratory bats — study
The expansion of wind turbines across North America could drive one of the most common migratory bat species to the brink of extinction, according to a new study that calls on regulators and the wind power industry to take immediate steps to address the problem. The study, published this week in the journal Biological Conservation, investigated whether fatalities at wind power sites “could impact population viability of migratory bats, focusing on the hoary bat, the species most frequently killed by . . . Complete story »
State might let wind farm kill more bats
A Maui wind farm wants the government to increase the number of endangered Hawaiian hoary bats it is allowed to kill, after passing the limit 15 years ahead of schedule. SunEdison Inc., owner of the 21-megawatt wind facility called Kaheawa Wind Power II, requested to increase the amount of hoary bats the facility is allowed to kill to 62 from 11 bats over its 20-year project with the Department of Land and Natural Resources. DLNR proposed to approve the increase . . . Complete story »
A deadly double punch: together, turbines and disease jeopardize endangered bats
Wind turbine collisions and the deadly bat disease known as white-nose syndrome (WNS) can together intensify the decline of endangered Indiana bat populations in the midwestern United States, according to a recently published U.S. Geological Survey study. “Bats are valuable because, by eating insects, they save U.S. agriculture billions of dollars per year in pest control,” said USGS scientist Richard Erickson, the lead author of the study. “Our research is important for understanding the threats to endangered Indiana bats and . . . Complete story »
Wind farms killing more bats than expected
Hawaii’s five major wind farms are killing endangered Hawaiian hoary bats at a much faster pace than expected. The wind farms have killed 146 Hawaiian hoary bats out of the 187 they are allowed. They’ve killed that many in 6.4 years while they were expected not to reach the total for 20 years or more. The wind farms have also killed at least 50 nene – the endangered Hawaiian goose and state bird – and 26 petrels, an endangered seabird. The state . . . Complete story »
Dangerous flights into wind turbines
Wind turbines attract bats. They seem to appear particularly appealing to female noctule bats in early summer. In a pilot study, researchers of the German Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin noticed this when they tracked the flight paths of noctule bats, Nyctalus noctula, using the latest GPS tracking devices. The bats managed to take even seasoned experts by surprise. The motive behind the study is the conflict between the exploitation of wind energy and the conservation . . . Complete story »
Botetourt wind farm developer files plan, seeks to avoid bat deaths
The massive blades of wind turbines will not spin during the times they are most likely to kill flying bats, an energy developer says in seeking state permission to build its wind farm atop a Botetourt County mountain. Apex Clean Energy will turn the turbines off from dusk to dawn every year between May 15 and Nov. 15, when bats are foraging for food. But they could remain on when the wind is blowing faster that 15 mph or when . . . Complete story »
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Issues Final 4(d) Rule for Northern Long-Eared Bat Under Endangered Species Act
In April 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) published a final decision to list the northern long-eared bat as threatened and, rather than publishing a final 4(d) rule, opted to publish an interim 4(d) rule and open a 90-day comment period to gather additional information and potentially refine the interim 4(d) rule. As we discussed in a post last year, the effect of the interim 4(d) rule depended on the location of a particular activity. For areas of . . . Complete story »
Decades of bat observations reveal uptick in new causes of mass mortality
FORT COLLINS, Colorado – Reports of bat deaths worldwide due to human causes largely unique to the 21st century are markedly rising, according to a new USGS-led analysis published in Mammal Review. Collisions with wind turbines worldwide and the disease white-nose syndrome in North America lead the reported causes of mass death in bats since the onset of the 21st century. These new threats now surpass all prior known causes of bat mortality, natural or attributed to humans. A comprehensive study . . . Complete story »
Wind, birds and bats: recent legal migrations
Wind energy has rapidly migrated from a small to significant source of energy generation, resulting in increased attention to and regulation of wind energy’s impact on birds and bats. This article provides a high-level overview of recent developments and items to monitor in terms of wildlife protection. Enforcement To date, the federal government has entered into only two plea agreements (with PacifiCorp in December 2014 and Duke Energy in November 2013) with respect to alleged Bald and Golden Eagle Protection . . . Complete story »
Cape and Islands population of threatened bats hangs on
CAMP EDWARDS – If you see the blades of wind turbines stopped at Joint Base Cape Cod, it could be a maintenance issue. It could be weather. Or it could be bats. Northern long-eared bats, which once thrived locally and throughout most of the Northeast, are federally listed as a threatened species and are on the state’s endangered list because of a fungal disease known as white-nose syndrome that’s wiped out an estimated 95 percent of the population, according the U.S. . . . Complete story »
