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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: 1694

Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Winds of Progress: An In-Depth Exploration of Offshore, Floating, and Onshore Wind Turbines as Cornerstones for Sustainable Energy Generation and Environmental Stewardship Afridi, S. K., Koondhar, M. A., Jamali, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Lighting Bats, Birds, Raptors, Seabirds, Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Water Quality, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data, Visual Impacts
A framework for studying the effects of offshore wind energy development on birds and bats in the Eastern United States Williams, K., Gulka, J., Cook, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement Bats, Birds
Tracking data highlight the importance of human-induced mortality for large migratory birds at a flyway scale Serratosa, J., Oppel, S., Rotics, S. Journal Article Wind Energy Collision Birds
Coastal and offshore movements of Nathusius' pipistrelle during autumn migration Lagerveld, S., de Vries, P., Noort, B. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Bats
Accounting for the Fraction of Carcasses Outside the Searched Area in the Estimation of Bird and Bat Fatalities at Wind Energy Facilities Dalthorp, D., Huso, M., Dalthorp, M. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
SEABIRD: System for Environmental Assessment of Bird/Bat Interactions with Real-time Detection Chang, G., Chevitarese, M., Kramer, S. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision Bats, Birds
Autonomous thermal tracking reveals spatiotemporal patterns of seabird activity relevant to interactions with floating offshore wind facilities Schneider, S., Kramer, S., Bernstein, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds
Lack of evasive behaviour by a Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus on impact with a turbine blade at a South African wind farm: causes and mitigations; Absence de comportement évasif d'un Aigle martial Polemaetus bellicosus lors de l'impact avec une pale Simmons, R., Martins, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Avoidance, Collision Birds, Raptors
Monitorización de aves en DemoSATH LAB Ugena Ispizua, A., Del Real Tuñón, J., Eggers Ruiz, L. Presentation Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Toward solving the global green–green dilemma between wind energy production and bat conservation Voigt, C., Bernard, E., Huang, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Avoidance, Collision, Displacement Bats
Deep learning workflow to support in-flight processing of digital aerial imagery for wildlife population surveys Ke, T., Yu, S., Koneff, M. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy Collision Birds, Waterfowl
Offshore Wind Facts: Birds and Bats Special Initiative on Offshore Wind Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Lighting, Noise Bats, Birds
Land-based Wind Energy Voluntary Avoidance Guidance for the Tricolored Bat Bulliner, K. Guidance Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Primary vs grey: A critical evaluation of literature sources used to assess the impacts of offshore wind farms Szostek, C., Edwards-Jones, A., Beaumont, N. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, Habitat Change, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions
Short Science Summary: Raptor Monitoring and Minimization Technologies WREN, Dempsey, L., Hein, C. Summary Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Raptors
Thornton Bank Offshore Wind Farm Annual Report 2023 Magnus, D. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Birds, Seabirds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Water Quality
Modelling population-level impacts of wind farm collision risk on Welsh Red Kites Hereward, H., Macgregor, C., Gabb, O. Report Wind Energy Collision Birds, Raptors
Wozep Ecological Programme: Knowledge day Wozep/MONS 2024 WOZEP Presentation Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport
A standardized protocol for assessing the performance of automatic detection systems used in onshore wind power plants to reduce avian mortality Ballester, C., Dupont, S., Corbeau, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds
Task Force on Sustainable Tidal Energy Development in the Bay of Fundy: Final Report Fisheries and Oceans Canada Report Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Fish, Human Dimensions
Geese migrating over the Pacific Ocean select altitudes coinciding with offshore wind turbine blades Weiser, E., Overton, C., Douglas, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Waterfowl
Prospective modelling of operational offshore wind farms on the distribution of marine megafauna in the southern North Sea Virgili, A., Laran, S., Authier, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision Birds, Seabirds, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Wind Farms and Power Lines Reduced the Territory Status and Probability of Fledgling Production in the Eurasian Goshawk Accipiter gentilis Husby, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Avoidance, Collision, Noise Birds, Raptors
Improving Understanding of Environmental Effects from Single MRE Devices to Arrays Hasselman, D., Hemery, L., Copping, A. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise
Probability of Atlantic salmon post-smolts encountering a tidal turbine installation in Minas Passage, Bay of Fundy Sanderson, B., Karsten, R., Hasselman, D. Presentation Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Fish, Pelagic Fish
Predicting the probability of encounter between fish species and tidal stream energy devices using acoustic telemetry Bangley, C., Hasselman, D., Culina, J. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Fish
From Science to Consenting: Applying Environmental Effects Information to Support Regulatory Decision-Making Freeman, M., Copping, A., Rose, D. Presentation Marine Energy Collision, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Does size matter? Investigation of the effect of wind turbine size on bird and bat mortality Garvin, J., Simonis, J., Taylor, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Integrated Science Plan for Offshore Wind, Wildlife, and Habitat in U.S. Atlantic Waters Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind (RWSC) Webpage Wind Energy Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Entanglement, Noise, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Geographic source of bats killed at wind-energy facilities in the eastern United States Wieringa, J., Nagel, J., Campbell, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
NextWind: Advancing Wind Energy Technology Using Real-Time Monitoring Systems in a Digital Twin Application Siddiqi, K., Kramer, S., Schneider, S. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, EMF, Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
Post-construction Monitoring Study for the California Ridge Wind Farm Champaign and Vermilion Counties, Illinois DuBridge, K., Wilson, G., Ritzert, J. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Post-Construction Monitoring Study for the Crescent Wind Project Hillsdale County, Michigan Fritchman, C., Ciecka, A., Pickle, J. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Localized Eco-Climatic Impacts of Onshore Wind Farms: A Review Ze, J., Xiuchun, Y., Ang, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Habitat Change Bats, Birds, Physical Environment
Approach Distances of Scottish Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos to Wind Turbines According to Blade Motion Status, Wind Speed, and Preferred Habitat Fielding, A., Anderson, D., Benn, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Avoidance, Collision Birds, Raptors
Behavioural responses of Sandwich terns following the construction of offshore wind farms Thaxter, C., Green, R., Collier, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision, Displacement Birds, Seabirds
Shetland Tidal Array Project Environmental Monitoring Plan (PEMP) Smith, K. Report Marine Energy, Tidal Chemicals, Collision, Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Marine Mammals
The geographic extent of bird populations affected by renewable-energy development Vander Zanden, H., Nelson, D., Conkling, T. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision
Experimental trials of species-specific bat flight responses to an ultrasonic deterrent Fritts, S., Guest, E., Weaver, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Long-term impacts of the Smøla wind farm on a local population of white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) Stokke, B., Dahl, E., Kleven, O. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Displacement Birds, Raptors

Displaying 241 - 280 of 1694 results