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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: 1637

Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
The Challenges of Addressing Wildlife Impacts When Repowering Wind Energy Projects Smallwood, K. Book Chapter Wind Energy Displacement, Collision, Avoidance, Attraction Birds
Radar Assisted Shutdown on Demand Ensures Zero Soaring Bird Mortality at a Wind Farm Located in a Migratory Flyway Tomé, R., Canário, F., Leitão, A. Book Chapter Wind Energy Collision Birds
A Large-Scale, Multispecies Assessment of Avian Mortality Rates at Land-Based Wind Turbines in Northern Germany Grunkorn, T., Blew, J., Kruger, O. Book Chapter Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds
A Spatial Explicit Agent Based Model Approach to Evaluate the Performance of Different Monitoring Options for Mortality Estimates in the Scope of Onshore Windfarm Impact Assessments Santos, M., Bastos, R., Ferreira, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Bats
Computational Prediction of Pressure Change in the Vicinity of Tidal Stream Turbines and the Consequences for Fish Survival Rate Zangiabadi, E., Masters, I., Williams, A. Journal Article Tidal, Marine Energy Habitat Change, Collision Fish
Joint SNCB Interim Displacement Advice Note Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Natural England Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement Birds
Estimation of bird fatalities caused by wind turbines in Turkey Arikan, K., Turan, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds
Tidal Energy Fish Impact: Method Development to Determine the Impact of Open Water Tidal Energy Converters on Fish Smit, M., Winter, E., Scheijgrond, P. Report Tidal, Marine Energy Collision Fish
Hydroacoustic Analysis of the Effects of a Tidal Power Turbine on Fishes Viehman, H. Thesis Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Fish
Lack of Sound Science in Assessing Wind Farm Impacts on Seabirds Green, R., Langston, R., McCluskie, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Seabirds, Birds
Offshore wind energy ecological programme (Wozep) Monitoring and research programme 2017-2021 WOZEP project team Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change Bats, Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment
The most Important Environmental Project in a German Offshore Wind Farm: Accompanying Ecological Research on the Offshore Test Field Project Alpha Ventus Beiersdorf, A., Boethling, M., Binder, A. Book Chapter Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement, Noise Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Bat Mortality Due to Wind Turbines in Canada Zimmerling, J., Francis, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Bird Migration Intensity and Number of Collision Victims at the Wind Power Plant Le Peuchapatte (Switzerland) Aschwanden, J., Liechti, F. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Displacement, Collision, Avoidance Birds
Collision and Displacement Vulnerability Among Marine Birds of the California Current System Associated with Offshore Wind Energy Infrastructure Adams, J., Kelsey, E., Felis, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Displacement, Collision, Avoidance, Attraction Seabirds, Birds
Understanding the Risk of European Protected Species (Bats) at Onshore Wind Turbine Sites to Inform Risk Management Mathews, F., Richardson, S., Lintott, P. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Interactions of Aquatic Animals with the ORPC OCGen in Cobscook Bay, Maine: Monitoring Behavior Change and Assessing the Probability of Encounter with a Deployed MHK Device Zydlewski, G., Staines, G., Viehman, H. Report Tidal, Marine Energy Habitat Change, Collision, Avoidance Fish
Vessel-Based Acoustic Bat Monitoring Stantec Consulting Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Collision, Noise Bats, Birds, Seabirds
Evaluating Digital VHF Technology to Monitor Shorebird and Seabird Use of Offshore Wind Energy Areas in the Western North Atlantic Loring, P. Thesis Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Displacement, Collision Shorebirds, Seabirds, Birds
Use of Fish Tracking Data to Model Striped Bass Turbine Encounter Probability in Minas Passage Redden, A., Sanderson, B. Report Marine Energy Collision Fish
Predicting Eagle Fatalities at Wind Facilities Bay, K., Nasman, K., Erickson, W. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Raptors, Birds
A Coordinated Action Plan for Addressing Collision Risk for Marine Mammals and Tidal Turbines Hutchison, I., Copping, A. Workshop Article Marine Energy, Tidal Avoidance, Collision Marine Mammals
Bats in a tropical wind farm: species composition and importance of the spatial attributes of vegetation cover on bat fatalities Bolivar-Cime, B., Bolivar-Cime, A., Cabrera-Cruz, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Post-Construction Avian and Bat Mortality Monitoring at the Alta X Wind Energy Project, Kern County, California. Final Report for the Second Year of Operation: April 2015 – April 2016 Thompson, J., Boyd, C., Lombardi, J. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
A survey on bird activity monitoring and collision avoidance techniques in windmill turbines Aishwarya, K., Kathryn, J., Lakshmi, R. Conference Paper Wind Energy Collision Birds
A Synchronized Sensor Array for Remote Monitoring of Avian and Bat Interactions with Offshore Renewable Energy Facilities Suryan, R., Albertani, R., Polagye, B. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Bats
The Impacts of Small and Medium Wind Turbines on Bats Moyle, A. Thesis Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Habitat Change, Displacement, Collision, Avoidance, Attraction Bats
Informing a Tidal Turbine Strike Probability Model through Characterization of Fish Behavioral Response using Multibeam Sonar Output Bevelhimer, M., Colby, J., Adonizio, M. Report Marine Energy, Tidal Attraction, Avoidance, Collision Fish
Green Dilemma of Wind Farm on Avifauna: Future Ecological Considerations of Wind Energy Expansion in Ethiopia Mulualem, G. Journal Article Wind Energy Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change Birds, Passerines, Raptors, Shorebirds, Waterfowl
Multiple Mortality Events in Bats: A Global Review O'Shea, T., Cryan, P., Hayman, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Estimating the probability of fish encountering a marine hydrokinetic device Shen, H., Zydlewski, G., Viehman, H. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Fish
Scavenging of small bird carrion in southwestern Germany by beetles, birds and mammals Henrich, M., Tietze, D., Wink, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Mitigation Measures for Wildlife in Wind Energy Development, Consolidating the State of Knowledge — Part 2: Operation, Decommissioning Gartman, V., Bulling, L., Dahmen, M. Journal Article Wind Energy Avoidance, Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds
Black - billed Cuckoo Conservation Plan for the California Ridge Wind Energy Project Champaign and Vermilion Counties, Illinois Western Ecosystems Technology Inc (WEST) Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Noise Birds, Ground-Nesting Birds
Assessment of Diurnal Wind Turbine Collision Risk for Grassland Birds on the Southern Great Plains Wulff, S., Butler, M., Ballard, W. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds
Guidelines for Conducting Bird and Bat Studies at Commercial Wind Energy Projects New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Habitat Change Bats, Birds
A Review on the Technology, Performance, Design Optimization, Reliability, Techno-Economics and Environmental Impacts of Hydrokinetic Energy Conversion Systems Kumar, D., Sarkar, S. Journal Article Marine Energy Collision
Assessing collision risk between underwater turbines and marine wildlife Scottish Natural Heritage Report Marine Energy, Tidal Collision
Technological solutions to reduce the environmental impacts of wind-energy systems Megavind Report Wind Energy Collision, Displacement, Lighting, Noise Bats, Birds, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Visual Impacts
Tidal Turbine Collision Detection: A review of the state-of-the-art sensors and imaging systems for detecting mammal collisions Jha, S. Report Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Marine Mammals

Displaying 921 - 960 of 1637 results