Birds are better at avoiding wind turbine blades than previously thought, according to a study for Vattenfall at the Klim onshore wind farm in Northern Jutland in Denmark.
Vattenfall said the positive results confirm bigger potential for co-existence between nature and wind farms.
The study was carried out for Vattenfall by three unnamed consultancy firms in cooperation with local ornithologists and showed that over 99% of the pink-footed geese and cranes that fly in the area avoid the project’s turbine blades.
Klim is located in the immediate vicinity of the Vejlerne international Natura 2000 bird protection area, said Vattenfall.
Each day, thousands of birds leave their roosting areas in Vejlerne and fly out to the nearby fields to find food, with many passing the wind farm, the company said.
Vattenfall bioscience lead for environment and sustainability Jesper Kyed Larsen said: “The area is an important natural area and quite extraordinary, as 20-30,000 pink-footed geese and several hundred cranes roost here.
“Thousands of birds fly past the wind farm in both the morning and the evening during the winter period, which is why it’s so positive to learn that the birds fly around or over the turbines to such a great extent.
“Hardly any of them hit the turbines, and the figure is considerably lower than previously believed.”
Vattenfall said that the study was carried out partly to prove that Klim complied with its environmental permit, which stipulates that collisions must not exceed 75% of the current sustainable mortality rates for populations of pink-footed geese and cranes.
The work was carried out over two periods, one and three years, respectively, after the erection of the wind farm in 2015.
For three periods of just over a month in both the first and third years, the area around 11 turbines was checked every three days to see whether there were dead birds, feathers or other traces of bird remains.
The number of birds in the study area was also mapped using laser binoculars, telescopes and radar, which made it possible to systematically measure distance and flight altitudes and subsequently create a 3D trajectory of each bird.
Larsen said: “The results confirm that birds are astonishingly good at flying around or over the turbines.
“This is positive, not only because almost no birds die in collisions, but also because it means that the erection of wind turbines doesn’t need to be in direct conflict with natural areas.
“This new knowledge should be taken into consideration in connection with the planning of new wind farms.”
NOTE: the last sentence. that’s what this article is all about of course. Up to you if you believe it.
0 Comments