Collision

Direct contact between an animal and a device component.

Any part of a renewable energy device that moves has the potential to have a deleterious effect on both resident and migratory organisms. Collisions between animals and tidal or wind turbine blades could result in injury or death, either by direct contact with the device or by pressure changes created around the moving parts. The probability of a collision with a blade may vary based on the rotational or mechanical speed of the moving parts, the presence and density of animals in the area, the time of day, weather conditions, and the ability of animals to sense and evade the device. Carcasses found around land-based wind turbines provide an estimate of bird and bat fatalities, while it is much more difficult to estimate the effect of collisions with offshore wind turbines. To date there have been no observed collisions of marine mammals or diving seabirds with tidal turbines. Wave energy devices also have moving parts such as heave plates, flaps, and other large heavy components that could potentially cause harm, although the likelihood is thought to be extremely small. Collisions resulting in injury and death of individual animals with moving parts of devices become particularly important if the loss of those individuals affect the stability and sustainability of the population in the area.

For more information relevant to marine energy, check out the Collision Risk Short Science Summary produced by OES-Environmental.

For more information relevant to offshore wind energy, check out the Bat and Bird Interactions with Offshore Wind Energy research brief produced by SEER.

Marine and Wind Energy Environmental Documents

Tethys is a knowledge hub that contains documents on the environmental effects of wind and marine energy. The table below contains all of the documents in the Tethys Knowledge Base associated with Collision.

Total: 1585

Searches title and abstract.
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Systematic Review of Crop Pests in the Diets of Four Bat Species Found as Wind Turbine Fatalities Hale, A., Foo, C., Lloyd, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Attraction, Collision Bats
An ecological risk assessment for the impacts of offshore wind farms on sharks and rays in Australia Werry, J., Meager, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Chemicals, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Lighting, Noise Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Physical Environment, Water Quality, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Sea Turtles and Marine Energy: Linking Shell Mechanics to Impact Lezcano, I., Wyneken, J., Porter, M. Presentation Marine Energy, Ocean Current, Tidal Collision Reptiles, Sea Turtles
The Scottish Seabird Conservation Action Plan Scottish Government Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement Birds, Seabirds
Scottish seabird conservation action plan: vulnerability report Scottish Government Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement Birds, Seabirds
Spatiotemporal patterns in sex ratios of bat fatalities at wind energy facilities in the United States Weaver, S., Hale, A., Nelson, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Detection of management events at wind turbines Harendt, S., Bruns, E. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds
Sea Space Analysis for Wave and Tidal Energy Lee, S., Strong, V., Anning, D. Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Chemicals, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Water Quality, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning, Navigation, Recreation & Tourism, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement, Visual Impacts
Wind farms through the lens of sustainability and circularity: Integrating environmental, economic, and social dimensions Arias, A., Moreira, M., Feijoo, G. Journal Article Wind Energy Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Life Cycle Assessment, Social & Economic Data, Visual Impacts
Integrating Biodiversity Impacts into Life Cycle Assessment: Applied to a case study of onshore wind power production Demyanenko, S. Thesis Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Terrestrial Mammals, Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
A global review of Procellariiform flight height, flight speed and nocturnal activity: Implications for offshore wind farm collision risk Miller, M., Petrovic, S., Clarke, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds
Economic Viability and Environmental Assessment of Marine Renewable Energy Technologies: A Comparative Framework for Tidal Stream Energy and Offshore Wind Power in the United States Bajaj, A. Journal Article Tidal, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Passerines, Fish, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Navigation, Social & Economic Data
Seabirds in 3D: A Framework to Evaluate Collision Vulnerability with Future Offshore Wind Developments [Final Report] Wallach, E., Chamberlin, C., Jacobson, A. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds
Life-cycle impact assessment of offshore wind energy development on migrating bird diversity in the North Sea Critchley, E., Nilsson, A., Helberg, M Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision, Displacement Birds, Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
Bat Acoustic Monitoring in the Gulf of Maine Preliminary 2024 results Howe, M., Goodale, W., Guilbert, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Bats
Towards Nature Positive for the Ocean: Pathways for Corporate Contributions Carrow, A., Lynch, L., Kroner, R. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Chemicals, Collision, Displacement, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Lighting, Noise Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Water Quality, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning
Shutdown on Demand for the mitigation of bird collision risk at onshore wind farms in South Africa Smallie, J., Froneman, A., Smith, D. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds
Reassessing Risk using Acoustic Exposure Results Summary Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute (REWI), Peterson, T., Rusk, A. Summary Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Acoustic exposure reveals variation in curtailment effectiveness at reducing bat fatality at wind turbines Peterson, T., Rusk, A., Byrne, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Northward migrations of nonbreeding Bald Eagles from Arizona, USA Cappello, C., Jacobson, K., Driscoll, J. Journal Article Wind Energy Collision Birds, Raptors
Multi-sensor Arrays Provide Complementary Information on Bat Presence and Activity in the Offshore Environment Amichai, E., Forcey, G., Vukovich, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision Bats
Proceedings of the 15th Wind Wildlife Research Meeting Gottlieb, I. Workshop Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Displacement Bats, Birds
Tidal Industry Seal Project: Managing the Consenting Risk of Harbour Seal Collision in the Scottish Tidal Energy Industry Edwards, E., Davies, I., Gerich, G. Report Marine Energy, Tidal Avoidance, Collision Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Ultrasonic deterrents provide no additional benefit over curtailment in reducing bat fatalities at an Ohio wind energy facility Clerc, J., Huso, M., Schirmacher, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
SEABIRD: System for Environmental Assessment of Bird/Bat Interactions with Real-Time Detection [Poster] Chang, G., Doolittle, D., Macrander, M. Presentation Wind Energy Collision Bats, Birds
Towards a better understanding of avian collision in wind energy facilities using automatic detection systems Gémard, C., Duriez, O., Chappe, O. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds
Collision Risk Evidence Base OES-Environmental Summary Marine Energy, Ocean Current, Riverine, Tidal Collision
Stressor-Specific Guidance Document: Collision Risk OES-Environmental Report Marine Energy Collision
Marine Renewable Energy: An Introduction to Environmental Effects OES-Environmental Summary Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions
Framework for assessing species vulnerability whilst on migration to a spatially explicit anthropogenic pressure Green, R., Burton, N., Cook, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Waterfowl
Relative abundance, seasonal occurrence, and distribution of marine birds in the northern Gulf of Mexico Haney, C., Michael, P., Gleason, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds, Shorebirds
Seabirds in 3D: A Framework to Evaluate Collision Vulnerability with Future Offshore Wind Developments - Interim Project Report #2: Assessing Tradeoffs between Seabird Density at Collision Risk Height and Wind Facility Performance Wallach, E., Chamberlin, C., Schneider, S. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds
Onderzoek 'zwarte wiek' Eemshaven Kleyheeg-Hartman, J., Jeninga, S., Kappers, E. Report Wind Energy Collision Birds
Visual fields, foraging and collision vulnerability in gulls (Laridae) Cantlay, J., Portugal, S., Martin, G. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds
Mapping bird and bat assemblage vulnerability for predicting wind energy impact Morant, J., Naves-Alegre, L., Garcia, H. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Predicting risk to bat species from wind turbine collision in Southeast Asia Crane, M., Silvia, I., Grainger, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Offshore wind FAQs Australian Marine Conservation Society Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Exploring development of spatially stratified wind turbine collision risk prior distributions for eagles: An application of adaptive management Howell, P., New, L., Bjerre, E. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Raptors
Improving decisionmaking in relation to offshore wind priority knowledge and decision support needs for Australia Australian Marine Conservation Society Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Entanglement, Noise, Vessel Strike Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions
Tidal Stream Energy Project: Collision Risk Data and Evidence Summary Phillips, E., Wren, S., King, G. Report Marine Energy, Tidal Avoidance, Collision, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Displaying 41 - 80 of 1585 results