Short Science Summary: Bat Interactions with Land-Based Wind Energy: A European and North American Perspective

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Estimates of fatality indicate hundreds of thousands of bats are killed annually at wind turbines both in Europe and North America. Given bats are long-lived and typically only have 1 to 2 pups per year, existing fatality rates may not be sustainable for certain species. Recent studies indicate population-level declines are possible, particularly given the anticipated growth of wind energy development. This summary represents a general overview of the research, produced by WREN under IEA Wind. The table below contains the literature relevant to bats and the wind energy industry and will continue to be updated as new literature is added to Tethys.

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Sources of Information on Bats:

Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Enabling Renewable Energy While Protecting Wildlife: An Ecological Risk-Based Approach to Wind Energy Development Using Ecosystem-Based Management Values Copping, A., Gorton, A., May, R., Bennet, F., DeGeorge, E., Goncalves, M., Rumes, B. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Offshore Wind Collision, Habitat Change Bats, Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
An evaluation of bird and bat mortality at wind turbines in the Northeastern United States Choi, D., Wittig, T., Kluever, B. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Dogs detect larger wind energy effects on bats and birds Smallwood, K., Bell, D., Standish, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Bat Activity Rates do not Predict Bat Fatality Rates at Wind Energy Facilities Solick, D., Pham, D., Nasman, K., Bay, K. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Ultrasonic acoustic deterrents significantly reduce bat fatalities at wind turbines Weaver, S., Hein, C., Simpson, T., Evans, J., Castro-Arellano, I. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) behavior at wind turbines on Maui Gorresen, P., Cryan, P., Tredinnick, G. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Bats
Landscape Factors Associated with Fatalities of Migratory Tree-Roosting Bats at Wind Energy Facilities: An Initial Assessment Peters, K., Evans, I., Traiger, E., Collins, J., Mathews, C., Klehr, A. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Population-Level Risk to Hoary Bats Amid Continued Wind Energy Development: Assessing Fatality Reduction Targets Under Broad Uncertainty Electric Power Research Institute Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Learning from Real-World Experience to Understand Renewable Energy Impacts to Wildlife Conkling, T., Vander Zanden, H., Poessel, S., Loss, S., Allison, T., Diffendorfer, J., Duerr, A., Nelson, D., Yee, J., Katzner, T. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Bat Impact Minimization Technology: An Improved Bat Deterrent for the Full Rotor Swept Area of Any Wind Turbine Cooper, D., Green, T., Miller, M., Rickards, E. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Noise Bats
Assessing population‐level consequences of anthropogenic stressors for terrestrial wildlife Katzner, T., Braham, M., Conkling, T., Diffendorfer, J., Duerr, A., Loss, S., Nelson, D., Vander Zanden, H., Yee, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Ultrasonic Acoustic Deterrent in Reducing Bat Fatalities at Wind Energy Facilities - Final Technical Report Schirmacher, M. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Effects of Wind Turbine Curtailment on Bird and Bat Fatalities Smallwood, K., Bell, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Relating Bat Passage Rates to Wind Turbine Fatalities Smallwood, K., Bell, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Estimates of aerial vertebrate mortality at wind farms in a bird migration corridor and bat diversity hotspot Cabrera-Cruz, S., Cervantes-Pasqualli, J., Franquesa-Soler, M., Munoz-Jimenez, O., Rodriguez-Aguilar, G., Villegas-Patraca, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Wind energy development and wildlife conservation in Lithuania: A mapping tool for conflict assessment Morkune, R., Marčiukaitis, M., Jurkin, V., Gecevicius, G., Morkunas, J., Raudonikis, L., Markevicius, A., Narscius, A., Gasiunaite, Z. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Displacement Bats, Birds
Long-term Acoustic Assessment of Bats at Spion Kop Reservoir, Montana for 2015-2017 Bachen, D., Burkholder, B., Maxell, B. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Displacement Bats
Evaluation of an Acoustic Deterrent to Reduce Bat Mortalities at an Illinois Wind Farm Romano, W., Skalski, J., Townsend, R., Kinzie, K., Coppinger, K., Miller, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Influence of landscape and time of year on bat-wind turbines collision risks Roemer, C., Bas, Y., Disca, T., Coulon, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision Bats
U.S. Geological Survey energy and wildlife research annual report for 2019 Khalil, M. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Offshore Wind Bats, Birds, Fish, Terrestrial Mammals
First three‐dimensional tracks of bat migration reveal large amounts of individual behavioral flexibility O'Mara, M., Wikelski, M., Kranstauber, B., Dechmann, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Bats
Impacts to Wildlife of Wind Energy Siting and Operation in the United States Allison, T., Diffendorfer, J., Baerwald, E., Beston, J., Drake, D., Hale, A., Hein, C., Huso, M., Loss, S., Lovich, J., Strickland, M., Williams, K., Winder, V. Report Wind Energy, Offshore Wind, Land-Based Wind Habitat Change, Displacement, Collision, Avoidance, Attraction Birds, Bats
Understanding Wind Energy Impacts to Bats and Testing Reduction Strategies in South Texas Weaver, S. Thesis Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Red bat fatality: Geographic extents through deuterium and niche models Murtaugh, R., Capparella, A., Kostelnick, J., Johnson, G. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
A smart curtailment approach for reducing bat fatalities and curtailment time at wind energy facilities Hayes, M., Hooton, L., Gilland, K., Grandgent, C., Smith, T., Lindsay, S., Collins, J., Schumacher, S., Rabie, P., Gruver, J., Goodrich-Mahoney, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Bats
Bird and Bat Conservation Strategy Deuel Harvest North Wind Farm Deuel County, South Dakota Simon, S., Welch-Acosta, B. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Avoidance Birds, Bats
An evidence-based approach to specifying survey effort in ecological assessments of bat activity Richardson, S., Lintott, P., Hosken, D., Mathews, F. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Bats
A review of the major threats and challenges to global bat conservation Frick, W., Kingston, T., Flanders, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Bats
Echolocation activity of migratory bats at a wind energy facility: testing the feeding-attraction hypothesis to explain fatalities Reimer, J., Baerwald, E., Barlay, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Attraction Bats
Bats and Wind Energy: Impacts, Mitigation, and Tradeoffs Allison, T. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Bats
Carcass Age and Searcher Identity Affect Morphological Assessment of Sex of Bats Nelson, D., Nagel, J., Trott, R., Campbell, C., Pruitt, L., Good, R., Iskali, G., Gugger, P. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Multi-state occupancy models of foraging habitat use by the Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) Gorresen, P., Brinck, K., DeLisle, M., Montoya-Aiona, K., Pinzari, C., Bonaccorso, F. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Bats
Wind Energy and Bat Conservation - A Review by the Canadian Wind Energy Association Barnes, R., Hill, M., Peters, K. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Legal & Policy, Human Dimensions, Bats
Estimating habitat loss due to wind turbine avoidance by bats: Implications for European siting guidance Barre, K., Le Viol, I., Bas, Y., Julliard, R., Kerbiriou, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change Bats
Barbastelle bats in a wind farm: are they at risk? Apoznanski, G., Sanchez-Navarro, S., Kokurewicz, T., Pettersson, S., Rydell, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Bats
Using network analysis to identify indicator species and reduce collision fatalities at wind farms Sebastian-Gonzalez, E., Perez-Garcia, J., Carrete, M., Donazar, J., Sanchez-Zapata, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Birds, Bats
Texturizing Wind Turbine Towers to Reduce Bat Mortality Bennett, V., Hale, A. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Avoidance Bats
Resolving environmental effects of wind energy Sinclair, K., Copping, A., May, R., Bennet, F., Warnas, M., Perron, M., Elmqvist, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Offshore Wind Bats, Birds, Marine Mammals
Ultrasonic Bat Deterrent Technology Kinzie, K. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Resource Availability May Not Be a Useful Predictor of Migratory Bat Fatalities or Activity at Wind Turbines Bennett, V., Hale, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Attraction Bats
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