Abstract
The wind power industry looks set for a boom following the agreement of the EU's 2009 Renewable Energy Strategy and the introduction of a more sympathetic planning act last year. But the picture across Europe remains inconsistent; although many countries are building wind farms capable of generating hundreds of megawatts of power – in Denmark, nearly one fifth of stationary electricity production is already powered by wind – in the UK only 1.8% of energy has its roots in wind.
If the EU is to meet its binding target of generating one fifth of all energy from renewable sources by 2020, it will need a major turbine revolution and a massive building strategy. Unfortunately, the wind turbines themselves remain a source of controversy – often for aesthetic reasons – and their installation and presence can have an impact on surrounding ecosystems and wildlife. They have been accused in the shrinking of local bat populations for example.
As a result, wind power companies need to take into account a variety of ecological issues in the planning and building stages of wind farms, following highly specialised advice from experts in fields such as meteorology, noise reduction and even ornithology.
According to Simon Pickering of RenewableUK – formerly the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA), the risk to birds from wind farms falls into two categories: the risk of mortality and the risk of disturbance. Apart from the obvious dangers of a bird hitting a spinning turbine, there are several other impacts to consider.