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
Sustainability Assessment of an Oscillating Water Column During the Design, Installation, Operation, and Disassembly Phases Gallego-Ramírez, C., López-Mosquera, J., Chica, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wave Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Chemicals, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Water Quality, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries, Navigation, Recreation & Tourism, Social & Economic Data, Visual Impacts
Scientific support to the trial of Spoor AI at the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre Brighton, C., Clarke, J., Boersch-Supan, P. Journal Article Wind Energy Collision Birds
Collision effects of North Sea wind turbines on bird species within the Kader Ecologie & Cumulatie (KEC) 5.0 Ijntema, G.J., Heida, N., Leemans, J.J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds, Shorebirds, Waterfowl
Offshore Wind Energy in Canada: Charting an Ecologically Sustainable Future from International Law and Policy Coordinates and State Practices Alikhani, M. Thesis Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Noise Bats, Birds
As built register Task & Finish Group Workshop: Feedback Report Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC), Pathways to Growth Coordination Group Workshop Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement Birds, Seabirds, Human Dimensions, Stakeholder Engagement
Strategic seaweed farming to support protected seabirds impacted by offshore windfarms Furness, R., Furness, E. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds, Shorebirds
Outlook on the development of eco-friendly offshore renewable energy technologies Sun, P., Jiang, Z., Chen, Y. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning
ScotMER 7th Symposium 2025: Ornithology Collision and Modelling Marine Scotland Presentation Wind Energy Collision Birds
Marine artificial light at night: Implications and potential hazards for offshore songbird and bat movements in the Greater North Sea Walsh, C., Hüppop, O., Karwinkel, T. Journal Article Wind Energy Attraction, Collision Bats, Birds
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Used to Assess Performance of Automated Detection and Audio Deterrent System for Reducing Wind-Turbine Collison Risk for Golden Eagles Smith, J., Schneider, S., Zirpoli, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Raptors
Autonomous sensor suite for evaluating fish-turbine interactions and environmental impacts in marine renewable energy and hydropower Salalila, A., Lu, J., Martinez, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Changes in Flow, Collision Fish
Prediction of operating offshore wind farms underwater noise from reanalysis of single point underwater noise measurement Firjatullah, M., Brodjonegoro, I., Bakti, F. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Noise Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
Year-round and Diel Patterns in Habitat Use of Seabirds off Oregon Orben, R., Porquez, J., Suryan, R. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds
Sensitivity Mapping of Relative Risks to Bats from Danish Offshore Wind Energy Brinkløv, S., Uebel, A., Fjederholt, E. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Noise Bats
Estimated golden eagle mortality from wind turbines in the western United States Gedir, J., Gould, M., Millsap, B. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Raptors
Summary of Bird Monitoring Reports from Operational Wind Energy Facilities in South Africa BirdLife South Africa Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Passerines, Raptors, Waterfowl
Which is worse for wildlife, wind farms or oil drilling? Hardach, S. Magazine Article Wind Energy Attraction, Collision, Displacement, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals
Advancing bat monitoring: Assessing the impact of unmanned aerial systems on bat activity Roswag, M., Roswag, A., Fietz, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Eoldist, a Web Application for Estimating Cautionary Detection Distance of Birds by Automatic Detection Systems to Reduce Collisions With Wind Turbines Fluhr, J., Duriez, O., Blary, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds
Environmental Effects of Offshore Wind Energy in the Gulf of Mexico: Compilation of Educational Research Briefs [Booklet] Severy, M., Farr, H., Richlen, M. Summary Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
System impacts of wind energy developments: Key research challenges and opportunities McKenna, R., Lilliestam, J., Heinrichs, H. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data, Visual Impacts
Activity-based Informed Curtailment: Using Acoustics to Design and Validate Smart Curtailment to Reduce Risk to Bats at Wind Farms Peterson, T., Aghababian, S., Byrne, C. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
A Fuzzy Logic Technique for the Environmental Impact Assessment of Marine Renewable Energy Power Plants Flores, P., Mendoza, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Ocean Current, OTEC, Tidal, Wave Attraction, Avoidance, Chemicals, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Visual Impacts
Floating Offshore Wind Energy Infrastructure Nielsen, K., Robertson, B., Sierman, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Physical Environment, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning, Stakeholder Engagement
Seals exhibit localised avoidance of operational tidal turbines Montabaranom, J., Gillespie, D., Longden, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Avoidance, Collision Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Bats and Wind Turbines: Adding Ecological Context to the Olfaction Hypothesis Clerc, J., Rogers, E., Fuller, N. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Cumulative collision risk and population-level consequences of industrial wind-power plant development for two vulture species: A quantitative warning Bounas, A., Vasilakis, D., Kret, E. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Raptors
Mapping relative risk to seabirds from offshore wind energy developments in Danish waters Isojunno, S. , Scott-Hayward, L., Thomsen, H. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change Birds, Passerines, Seabirds, Waterfowl
Developing the Offshore Wind that Birds Need Seavy, N., Wojcicki, S., Madden, A. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Lighting, Noise Birds, Passerines, Seabirds, Shorebirds, Waterfowl, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Shetland Tidal Array Monitoring Report July 2023 to June 2024 Smith, K. Report Marine Energy, Tidal Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Pelagic Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
Scenarios for Replacing Conventional Energy With Offshore Renewable Energy Along the Central California Coast Ruttenberg, B., Wang, Y. , Walter, R. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, Entanglement, Noise Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning
Development of a collision impact indicator to integrate in the life cycle assessment of offshore wind farms Baulaz, Y., Araignous, E., Pérez-López, P. Journal Article Wind Energy Collision Birds, Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
Offshore wind and impacts on migratory waterfowl of the Atlantic flyway White, M. Thesis Wind Energy Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change Birds, Passerines, Seabirds, Waterfowl, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Ultrasonic Deterrents To Reduce Bat Mortality at Wind Turbines—Short Science Summary ECO Wind Summary Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Effects of wind turbine dimensions on the collision risk of raptors: A simulation approach based on flight height distributions Schaub, T., Klaassen, R., Zutter, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Raptors
Wave and Tidal Energy: Evaluation of Feasibility, Costs, and Benefits Senate Bill 605 Report Lee, S., Strong, V., Aspen Environmental Group Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data
MASTS ASM 2024 Workshop Proceeding: Tracking Top Predators in Marine Renewable Energy Development Areas Sutherland, J. Marine Energy, Wind Energy Attraction, Chemicals, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds
How should the use of offshore wind farms by birds be approached and should it be encouraged? Henry, S., Bourgeois, K., Cadiou, B. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Habitat Change Birds
Guidance on biodiversity cumulative impact assessment for wind and solar developments and associated infrastructure Bennun, L., Fletcher, C., Cook, A. Guidance Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Stakeholder Engagement
Investigating Avian habitat modification and behavioral dynamics in active wind farm environments Salkanovic, E., Enevoldsen, P., Xydis, G. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds
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