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: 1618

Searches title and abstract.
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
ProcBe Annual Report No.1: Year 1 The Crown Estate Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds
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
A review of existing methods to collect data on seabird flight height distributions and their use in offshore wind farm impact assessments Feather, A., Burton, N, Johnston, D.T. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds
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
Update knowledge base for bird species vulnerable for collisions with offshore wind turbines (2025) - Description of available knowledge to be used within KEC 6.0 Bebbington, K., Ijntema, G.J., Potiek, A. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds
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
Displaying 81 - 120 of 1618 results