Ultrasonic Deterrents To Reduce Bat Mortality at Wind Turbines—Short Science Summary

Bats

In North America, several bat species commonly collide with operating turbines. Although the ultimate cause of collisions is unknown, studies suggest bats may be attracted to turbines because they often approach turbine structures and spend extended periods of time (seconds to minutes) near them. To reduce bat mortality at wind farms, operators seek to reduce the amount of time bats spend near spinning turbine blades (known as exposure). Current approaches to reduce exposure include both curtailment, in which turbine operators stop turbine rotors from spinning during periods when bats are expected to be at the highest risk of collision, and deterrent technologies that seek to discourage bats from entering the rotor-swept area or at least limit the amount of time spent there.

The use of ultrasonic deterrent devices that emit one or more high-frequency sounds has been the most tested technique. The idea behind using ultrasound as a deterrent is it disrupts the ability of bats to effectively echolocate (sometimes referred to as signal jamming). According to this idea, introducing ultrasonic noise in the environment in the same frequency ranges that bats use to echolocate makes it difficult for bats to reliably interpret their own ultrasonic vocalizations. Bats are expected to vacate environments where echolocation is required but becomes unreliable. To test this hypothesis, researchers have investigated the behavioral responses of bats in laboratory (Spanjer 2006) and natural settings (Szewczak and Arnett 2007; Gilmour et al. 2020; Fritts et al. 2024).

In one of the earliest studies on the topic, Szewczak and Arnett (2007) used ultrasonic deterrents at a natural pond that bats frequented for drinking and foraging. Szewczak and Arnett demonstrated that ultrasonic deterrents greatly reduced the overall bat activity rates within a distance of approximately 20 meters (m). Despite relatively consistent results using ultrasound deterrents in natural settings (Szewczak and Arnett 2007; Gilmour et al. 2020) and as a tool to discourage bats (at least temporarily) from approaching buildings and bridges (Zeale et al. 2016; Aldemir Bektas et al. 2022), researchers’ ability to reduce bat mortality rates around wind turbines has been inconsistent (Table 1). For example, Weaver et al. (2020) found that ultrasonic deterrents reduced hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) and Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) fatalities but found no difference in the number of northern yellow bat (Lasiurus intermedius) carcasses between turbines with and without ultrasonic deterrents. Despite overall reductions in bat fatalities, several studies reported increased fatalities when considering species-specific effects.

The table below contains the literature relevant to this summary document and will continue to be updated as new literature is added to Tethys.

Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Bird and bat mortality at wind farms in South America: Lessons from monitoring and mitigation practices in Chile Santander, F., Morant, J., Perez-Garcia, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Testing a bat fatality detection system at wind turbines Weaver, S., Ritter, J., Commiskey, A., Garcia, J., Morton, B. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
New frontiers in wind-wildlife monitoring systems Dempsey, L., Clerc, J., Hein, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Displacement Bats, Birds
Wind Energy Interactions with Wildlife Answers to Frequently Asked Questions Based on the State of the Science Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute (REWI) Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Noise Bats, Birds
Harnessing AI for Bat Videography Research and Conservation Corcoran, A. Presentation Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Accelerating technology development to monitor and minimize effects from land-based wind energy on birds and bats Gottlieb, I., Hein, C., Field, P., Allison, T. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Migratory Strategy is a Key Factor Driving Interactions at Wind Energy Facilities in At-Risk North American Bats Campbell, C., Nelson, D., Nagel, J., Clerc, J., Weller, T., Wieringa, J., Fraser, E., Longstaffe, F., Hale, A., Lout, M., Pruitt, L., Guralnick, R., Vander Zanden, H. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Unravelling the relationship between digitalisation and sustainable energy transitions using socio-technical-ecological scripts Schmidt-Scheele, R., Mattes, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Systematic Review of Crop Pests in the Diets of Four Bat Species Found as Wind Turbine Fatalities Hale, A., Foo, C., Lloyd, J., Stucker, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Attraction, Collision Bats
Spatiotemporal patterns in sex ratios of bat fatalities at wind energy facilities in the United States Weaver, S., Hale, A., Nelson, D., Fritts, S., Katzner, T., Chipps, A., Korstian, J., LiCari, S., Nagel, J., Williams, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Integrating Biodiversity Impacts into Life Cycle Assessment: Applied to a case study of onshore wind power production Demyanenko, S. Thesis Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Terrestrial Mammals, Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
Acoustic exposure reveals variation in curtailment effectiveness at reducing bat fatality at wind turbines Peterson, T., Rusk, A., Byrne, C., Aghababian, S., Edwards, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Proceedings of the 15th Wind Wildlife Research Meeting Gottlieb, I. Workshop Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Displacement Bats, Birds
Ultrasonic deterrents provide no additional benefit over curtailment in reducing bat fatalities at an Ohio wind energy facility Clerc, J., Huso, M., Schirmacher, M., Whitby, M., Hein, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Mapping bird and bat assemblage vulnerability for predicting wind energy impact Morant, J., Naves-Alegre, L., Garcia, H., Tena, E., Sanchez-Navarro, S., Nogueras, J., Ibanez, C., Sebastian-Gonzalez, E., Perez-Garcia, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Predicting risk to bat species from wind turbine collision in Southeast Asia Crane, M., Silvia, I., Grainger, M., Gale, G. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Advancing bat monitoring: Assessing the impact of unmanned aerial systems on bat activity Roswag, M., Roswag, A., Fietz, J., Taefi, T. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Activity-based Informed Curtailment: Using Acoustics to Design and Validate Smart Curtailment to Reduce Risk to Bats at Wind Farms Peterson, T., Aghababian, S., Byrne, C. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Bats and Wind Turbines: Adding Ecological Context to the Olfaction Hypothesis Clerc, J., Rogers, E., Fuller, N., Jonasson, K., Dempsey, L., Brokaw, A., Weller, T. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Guidance on biodiversity cumulative impact assessment for wind and solar developments and associated infrastructure Bennun, L., Fletcher, C., Cook, A., Wilson, D., Jobson, B., Asante-Owusu, R., Dakmejian, A., Liu, Q. Guidance Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Stakeholder Engagement
Design of a Launcher for Wildlife Collision Simulation on Wind Turbines to Validate Strike Detection Systems Roadman, J., Goldhor, R., Hein, C., Ivanov, C., Rooney, S. Presentation Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
A decade of curtailment studies demonstrates a consistent and effective strategy to reduce bat fatalities at wind turbines in North America Whitby, M., O'Mara, M., Hein, C., Huso, M., Frick, W. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Flight behaviour of Red Kites within their breeding area in relation to local weather variables: Conclusions with regard to wind turbine collision mitigation Aschwanden, J., Stark, H., Liechti, F. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Potential for spatial coexistence of a transboundary migratory species and wind energy development Huang, T-K., Feng, X., Derbridge, J., Libby, K., Diffendorfer, J., Thogmartin, W., McCracken, G., Medellin, R., Lopez-Hoffman, L. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Context-dependent effects of wind turbines on bats in rural landscapes Sotillo, A., Le Viol, I., Barre, K., Bas, Y., Kerbiriou, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Avoidance, Collision Bats
Global Review on Environmental Impacts of Onshore Wind Energy in the Field of Tension between Human Societies and Natural Systems Sander, L., Jung, C., Schindler, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data, Visual Impacts
Environmental impact of wind farms from a biodiversity perspective: A comparative study of terrestrial and marine wind farms Kończak, K. Thesis Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Habitat Change Bats, Birds, Marine Mammals
Opportunities for enhancing biodiversity at wind and solar energy developments Jobson, B., Cook, A., Fletcher, C., Bennun, L., Murrell, L., Asante-Owusu, R., Liu, Q. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Changes in Flow, Collision, Habitat Change Bats, Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Reptiles, Terrestrial Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Stakeholder Engagement
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., Alaas, Z. M., Alsharif, M. H., Kim, M-K., Mahariq, I., Touti, E., Aoudia, M., Ahmed, M. M. R. 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
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., Mintz, J. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Toward solving the global green–green dilemma between wind energy production and bat conservation Voigt, C., Bernard, E., Huang, J., Frick, W., Kerbiriou, C., MacEwan, K., Mathews, F., Rodríguez-Durán, A., Scholz, C., Webala, P., Welbergen, J., Whitby, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Avoidance, Collision, Displacement Bats
Land-based Wind Energy Voluntary Avoidance Guidance for the Tricolored Bat Bulliner, K. Guidance Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
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
Geographic source of bats killed at wind-energy facilities in the eastern United States Wieringa, J., Nagel, J., Campbell, C., Nelson, D., Carstens, B., Gibbs, H. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
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., Kuzler, F., Murray, C. 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. , Dong, Y., Min, Z., Lunda, W. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Habitat Change Bats, Birds, Physical Environment
Experimental trials of species-specific bat flight responses to an ultrasonic deterrent Fritts, S., Guest, E., Weaver, S., Hale, A., Morton, B., Hein, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
Die Auswirkungen von Windenergieanlagen an Waldstandorten auf Fledermäuse Voigt, C., Scholz, C., Ellerbrok, J., Melber, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision Bats
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
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