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Collision

Birds flying past a wind turbine farm
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: 1656

Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Underestimated Scale of Songbird Offshore Migration Across the South-Eastern North Sea during Autumn Brust, V., Hüppop, O. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Passerines
Flight Altitudes of Raptors in Southern Africa Highlight Vulnerability of Threatened Species to Wind Turbines McClure, C., Dunn, L., McCabe, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Raptors
Documentation of the technical discussion "Anti-collision systems for birds" - A look at the development and testing status KNE (Kompetenzzentrum Naturschutz und Energiewende) Report Wind Energy Collision Birds
A Review of Biodiversity Data Needs and Monitoring Protocols for the Offshore Wind Energy Sector in the Baltic Sea and North Sea Stephenson, P. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Water Quality
Major threats to a migratory raptor vary geographically along the eastern Mediterranean flyway Oppel, S., Arkumarev, V., Bakari, S, Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Passerines, Raptors
Land suitability assessment for wind farms through best-worst method and GIS in Balıkesir province of Turkey Tercan, E. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Stakeholder Engagement
Risks to different populations and age classes of gannets from impacts of offshore wind farms in the southern North Sea Pollock, C., Lane, J., Buckingham, L. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds
Assessing fatality minimization for hoary bats amid continued wind energy development Friedenberg, N., Frick, W. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Are fish in danger? A review of environmental effects of marine renewable energy on fishes Copping, A., Hemery, L., Viehman, H. Journal Article Marine Energy, Riverine, Tidal, Wave Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Fish
Shetland Tidal Array Monitoring Report: Subsea video monitoring Smith, K. Report Marine Energy, Tidal Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Pelagic Fish, Marine Mammals
Three-dimensional analysis of bat flight paths around small wind turbines suggests no major collision risk or behavioral changes Hochradel, K., Hartmann, S., Reers, H. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Changes in Flow, Collision Bats
Fast & Flexible: streamlining a simulation- based approach to collision risk assessments Horne, N., Schmitt, P., Culloch, R. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
European Scalable Offshore Renewable Energy Source (EU-SCORES) Francisco Correia da Fonseca Research Study Marine Energy, Wave, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning
Life-cycle impacts of wind energy development on bird diversity in Norway May, R., Jackson, C., Middel, H. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change Birds, Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
When speed matters: The importance of flight speed in an avian collision risk model Masden, E., Cook, A., McCluskie, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds
Assessing movements of Lesser Black-backed Gulls using GPS tracking devices in relation to the Walney Extension and Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farms Clewley, G., Thaxter, C., Humphreys, E. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds
Wind Turbine Interactions with Wildlife and Their Habitats: A Summary of Research Results and Priority Questions (2021 Update) American Wind Wildlife Institute (AWWI) Report Wind Energy Collision Bats, Birds
Harbour porpoises exhibit localized evasion of a tidal turbine Gillespie, D., Palmer, L., Macaulay, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Avoidance, Collision Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
A roadmap towards quantitative cumulative impact assessments: Every step of the way Piet, G., Tamis, J., Volwater, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement, Noise Birds, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions
Marine Evidence packages ABP Marine Environmental Research Ltd (ABPmer) Webpage Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Lighting, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment
Post-fledging movements, mortality and migration of juvenile northern gannets Lane, J., Pollock, C., Jeavons, R. Journal Article Wind Energy Collision Birds, Seabirds
Non-territorial GPS-tagged golden eagles Aquila chrysaetos at two Scottish wind farms: Avoidance influenced by preferred habitat distribution, wind speed and blade motion status Fielding, A., Anderson, D., Benn, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Avoidance, Collision, Displacement Birds, Raptors
Land-Based Wind Energy Siting: A Foundational and Technical Resource Christol, C., Oteri, F., Laurienti, M. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Habitat Change Bats, Birds, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Stakeholder Engagement, Visual Impacts
Research Goals for Studying Bat Behavior at the Wind Turbine-scale Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative (BWEC) Report Wind Energy Attraction, Avoidance, Collision Bats
Eagles enter rotor-swept zones of wind turbines at rates that vary per turbine McClure, C., Rolek, B., Braham, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Raptors
Reducing bird collision risk per megawatt by introducing longer wind turbine blades Shimada, Y. Journal Article Wind Energy Collision Birds
Experimental and numerical aeroacoustic analysis of an ultrasound whistle Zeng, Z., Sharma, A. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Bats
The Role of Regional-Scale Weather Variables in Predicting Bat Mortality and Bat Acoustic Activity: Potential for Use in the Development of Smart Curtailment Algorithms Farnsworth, A., Horton, K., Heist, K. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Bird Workgroup Report for the State of the Science Workshop on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy 2020: Cumulative Impacts Cook, A., Williams, K., Jenkins, E. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change Birds
Draft Preliminary Environmental Assessment: Vandenberg Offshore Wind Energy Projects California State Lands Commission Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries, Visual Impacts
Bat Workgroup Report for the State of the Science Workshop on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy 2020: Cumulative Impacts Hein, C., Williams, K., Jenkins, E. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Collision Bats
Changes in flight paths of large-bodied birds after construction of large terrestrial wind turbines Therkildsen, O., Balsby, T., Kjeldsen, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Avoidance, Collision, Displacement Birds
Evidence of Absence Regression: A Binomial N-Mixture Model for Estimating Bird and Bat Fatalities at Wind Power Facilities McDonald, T., Bay, K., Studyvin, J. Journal Article Wind Energy Collision Bats, Birds
How well does IdentiFlight protect the red kite (Milvus milvus)? Reichenbach, M., Reers, H., Greule, S. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds
Tidal stream use by black guillemots Cepphus grylle in relation to a marine renewable energy development Johnston, D., Furness, R., Robbins, A. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision, Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds
Environmental impacts of offshore wind installation, operation and maintenance, and decommissioning activities: A case study of Brazil Hernández Carrascal, O., Shadman, M., Amiri, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
BirdLife Position on Renewable Energy at Sea and nature conservation BirdLife International Guidance Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Wind turbine event detection by support vector machine Hu, C., Albertani, R. Journal Article Wind Energy Collision Birds
Collision risk of bats with small wind turbines: Worst-case scenarios near roosts, commuting and hunting structures Hartmann, S., Hochradel, K., Greule, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Demographic and potential biological removal models identify raptor species sensitive to current and future wind energy Diffendorfer, J., Stanton, J., Beston, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Raptors

Displaying 521 - 560 of 1656 results