Skip to main content

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: 1695

Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Marine Mammals and Tidal Turbines: Understanding True Collision Risk Sparling, C., Lonergan, M., Mackey, B. Presentation Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Marine Mammals
Hatchet Ridge Wind Farm Post-Construction Mortality Monitoring Comprehensive Three Year Report Tetra Tech Inc. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Design and Initial Component Tests of an Integrated Avian and Bat Collision Detection System for Offshore Wind Turbines Flowers, J., Albertani, R., Harrison, T. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Discrete Element Modeling of Blade-Strike Frequency and Survival of Fish Passing Through Hydrokinetic Turbines Romero-Gomez, P., Richmond, M. Conference Paper Marine Energy Avoidance, Collision Fish
Report of the IWG on Wind Turbines and Bat Populations 2014 Rodrigues, L. Report Wind Energy Collision Bats
Wolfe Island Wind Plant Post-Construction Follow-up Plan Bird and Bat Resource Stantec Consulting Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds, Ground-Nesting Birds, Raptors
Collision Risk and Micro-Avoidance Rates of Birds with Wind Turbines in Flanders Everaert, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Avoidance, Collision Birds
Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm - Decision Letter & Conditions McKie, J. Guidance Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning, Stakeholder Engagement
Differential Mortality of Birds Killed at Wind Farms in Northern Portugal Morinha, F., Travassos, P., Seixas, F. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Displacement, Collision, Avoidance Birds
Measuring the Interaction Between Marine Features of Special Protection Areas with Offshore Wind Farm Development Sites Through Telemetry: Final Report Thaxter, C., Ross-Smith, V., Clark, N. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds
Construction and Post-Construction Avian and Bat Monitoring Plan Block Island Wind Farm Tetra Tech Inc. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change Bats, Birds, Physical Environment
Accounting for Unsearched Areas in Estimating Wind Turbine-Caused Fatality Huso, M., Dalthorp, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
A bibliography of bat fatality, activity, and interactions with wind turbines Johnson, G., Arnett, E., Hein, C. Report Wind Energy Collision Bats
Using a Spatial Overlap Approach to Estimate the Risk of Collisions between Deep Diving Seabirds and Tidal Stream Turbines: A Review of Potential Methods and Approaches Waggitt, J., Scott, B. Journal Article Tidal, Marine Energy Collision Birds
Modelling Flight Heights of Marine Birds to More Accurately Assess Collision Risk with Offshore Wind Turbines Johnston, A., Cook, A., Wright, L. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds
Quantifying the Impact of Offshore Wind Farms on Gannet Populations: A Strategic Ringing Project Furness, R., Wanless, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds
Assessing Risk to Birds from Industrial Wind Energy Development via Paired Resource Selection Models Miller, T., Brooks, R., Lanzone, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change Birds
Bird–building collisions in the United States: Estimates of annual mortality and species vulnerability Loss, S., Will, T., Loss, S. Journal Article Collision Birds, Passerines, Human Dimensions
Study on the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) Autumn Migration, Northeastern Bulgaria Gerdzhikov, G., Ilieva, M., Nikolov, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Habitat Change Birds, Shorebirds
A Diving Bird Collision Risk Assessment Framework for Tidal Turbines Grant, M., Trinder, M., Harding, N. Report Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Birds
Assessment of Strike of Adult Killer Whales by an OpenHydro Tidal Turbine Blade Carlson, T., Grear, M., Copping, A. Report Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Marine Mammals
Power from the Brave New Ocean: Marine Renewable Energy and Ecological Risks Hammar, L. Thesis Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Fish, Demersal Fish
Evaluation of Survival and Behavior of Fish Exposed to an Axial-Flow Hydrokinetic Turbine Amaral, S., Giza, D., McMahon, B. Report Marine Energy Collision, Avoidance Pelagic Fish, Fish, Demersal Fish
Of birds, blades and barriers: Detecting and analysing mass migration events at alpha ventus Hill, R., Hill, K., Aumuller, R. Book Chapter Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds
Wind Turbines and Migratory Birds: Avoiding a Collision Between the Energy Industry and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act Evans, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Effects of Wind Energy Development on Survival of Female Greater Prairie-Chickens Winder, V., NcNew, L., Gregory, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds
Hydrokinetic Turbine Effects on Fish Swimming Behaviour Hammar, L., Andersson, S., Eggertsen, L. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Fish, Demersal Fish
Biological and Existing Data Analysis to Inform Risk of Collision and Entanglement Hypotheses Kropp, R. Report Marine Energy, Wave Avoidance, Collision, Entanglement Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Hidden Markov Models for Estimating Animal Mortality from Anthropogenic Hazards Etterson, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds
Final Report: Post-Construction Avian Monitoring Digby Neck Wind Farm Craig, C., Kearney, J. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Noise Birds
Estimates of Bird Collision Mortality at Wind Facilities in the Contiguous United States of America Loss, S., Will, T., Marra, P. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds
Evidence that Bats Perceive Wind Turbine Surfaces to be Water McAlexander, A. Thesis Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Attraction Bats
Wind Turbine Fatalities Approach a Level of Concern in a Raptor Population Bellebaum, J., Korner-Nievergelt, F., Durr, T. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds
The Influence of Group Size and Social Interactions on Collision Risk with Obstacles Croft, S., Budgey, R., Pitchford, J. Journal Article Wind Energy Collision, Avoidance, Attraction Birds
Leaning Juniper II Wind Power Facility Wildlife Fatality Monitoring Study January 2011-July 2013 Downes, S. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
A New Stochastic Dynamic Tool to Improve the Accuracy of Mortality Estimates for Bats Killed at Wind Farms Bastos, R., Santos, M., Cabral, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Bird Mortality at a Wind-Energy Facility near a Wetland of International Importance Grodsky, S., Jennelle, C., Drake, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Displacement, Collision, Avoidance, Attraction Birds
Reducing Bat Fatalities From Interactions with Operating Wind Turbines (Fact Sheet) Lawson, M. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Habitat Change Bats
Examining potential effects of marine renewable energy developments on top predators Philpott, E. Thesis Marine Energy, Tidal Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Physical Environment
Reducing Bat Fatalities from Interactions with Operating Wind Turbines National Wind Technology Center Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats

Displaying 1161 - 1200 of 1695 results