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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
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
Die Auswirkungen von Windenergieanlagen an Waldstandorten auf Fledermäuse Voigt, C., Scholz, C., Ellerbrok, J. 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
Fine-scale collision risk mapping and validation with long-term mortality data reveal current and future wind energy development impact on sensitive species Morant, J., Arrondo, E., Zapata, J. Journal Article Wind Energy Collision Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Spatial and temporal dynamics of bird movement over the North Sea van Erp, J., Shamoun-Baranes, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement Birds, Seabirds, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Environmental Effects Monitoring Program Annual Report 2023 Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) Marine Energy, Tidal Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
Utilizing high-resolution genetic markers to track population-level exposure of migratory birds to renewable energy development Harrigan, R., Rajbhandary, J., Bossu, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds
Ectoparasitism and Energy Infrastructure Limit Survival of Preadult Golden Eagles in the Southern Great Plains Murphy, R., Millsap, B., Stahlecker, D. Journal Article Wind Energy Collision, Habitat Change Birds
Numbers of wildlife fatalities at renewable energy facilities in a targeted development region Conkling, T., Fesnock, A., Katzner, T. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
‘Scaling up’ our understanding of environmental effects of marine renewable energy development from single devices to large-scale commercial arrays Hasselman, D., Hemery, L., Copping, A. Journal Article Marine Energy Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise
Understanding fatality patterns and sex ratios of Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) at wind energy facilities in western California and Texas LiCari, S., Hale, A., Weaver, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Grand Challenges Revisited: Wind Energy Research Needs for a Global Energy Transition Veers, P., Dykes, K., Baranowski, R. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Noise Bats, Birds, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement, Visual Impacts
Mitigation measures for preventing collision of birds with wind turbines Garcia-Rosa, P., Tande, J. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds
Wind farms and Griffon Vultures: Evidence that under certain conditions history is not-always turbulent Farfan, M., Díaz-Ruiz, F., Duarte, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Displacement Birds, Raptors
Exploration of potential collaboration on preventive, mitigation and compensation measures van der Kamp, M., Brekelmans, M., Verweij, L. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning
Incidental eagle carcass detection can contribute to fatality estimation at operating wind energy facilities Hallingstad, E., Riser-Espinoza, D., Brown, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Raptors, Human Dimensions
Bioseco Pilot Study Results Report Camera-Based Anti-Collision System Species Protection Assessment Clausen, E., Welcker, J., Liesenjohann, T. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds
Disentangling mechanisms responsible for wind energy effects on European bats Leroux, C., Le Viol, I., Valet, N. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Validation of the bird migration prediction model Kraal, J., Krijgsveld, K., Japink, M. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds
A Probabilistic Methodology for Determining Collision Risk of Marine Animals with Tidal Energy Turbines Copping, A., Hasselman, D., Bangley, C. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Quantifying conditional probabilities of fish-turbine encounters and impacts Peraza, J., Horne, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Fish
EolPop, a R-shiny tool for quantifying the demographic impact of species exposed to fatalities: Application to bird collisions with wind turbines Chambert, T., Duriez, O., Deleaux, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Passerines, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Automated Detection and Tracking of Marine Mammals in the Vicinity of Tidal Turbines Using Multibeam Sonar Gillespie, D., Hastie, G., Montabaranom, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Marine Mammals
Griffon Vulture movements are concentrated around roost and supplementary feeding stations: implications for wind energy development on Mediterranean islands Cerri, J., Fozzi, I., De Rosa, D. Journal Article Wind Energy Collision Birds, Raptors
Flight heights obtained from GPS versus altimeters influence estimates of collision risk with offshore wind turbines in Lesser Black-backed Gulls Larus fuscus Johnston, D., Thaxter, C., Boersch-Supan, P. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds
Understanding seabird behaviour at sea part 2: improved estimates of collision risk model parameters Cook, A., Thaxter, C., Davies, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds
Strategic study of collision risk for birds on migration and further development of the stochastic collision risk modelling tool Woodward, I., Franks, S., Bowgen, K. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds
Task Force on Sustainable Tidal Energy Development in the Bay of Fundy Interim Report Fisheries and Oceans Canada Report Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy
Consideration of avoidance behaviour of northern gannet (Morus bassanus) in collision risk modelling for offshore wind farm impact assessments (NECR512) Pavat, D., Harker, A., Humphries, G. Guidance Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds
Detection of wind turbines rotary motion by birds: A matter of speed and contrast Blary, C., Bonadonna, F., Dussauze, E. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Passerines, Raptors
Wind turbine power and land cover effects on cumulative bat deaths Moustakas, A., Georgiakakis, P., Kret, E. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
The Importance of Addressing Disagreements Between Nominal and Effective Treatments During Bat Mortality Minimization Validation Studies Clerc, J., Hein, C., Huso, M. Presentation Wind Energy Collision Bats, Human Dimensions
Quick scan of effects from large upscaling of offshore wind (part C) Quee, N. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Collision, Habitat Change Bats, Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
Behavioral responses to offshore windfarms during migration of a declining shorebird species revealed by GPS-telemetry Schwemmer, P., Mercker, M., Haecker, K. Journal Article Wind Energy Collision Birds, Shorebirds, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Post-construction Bird and Bat Fatality Monitoring for Onshore Wind Energy Facilities in Emerging Market Countries: Good Practice Handbook and Decision Support Tool International Finance Corporation Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds, Human Dimensions
Choose Your Own Marine Energy Adventure Game: Collision Risk Hemery, L., DeGuia, B., Pratt, M. Conference Paper Marine Energy Collision Birds, Fish, Pelagic Fish, Marine Mammals

Displaying 241 - 280 of 1637 results