HSE


The birds and the bats


The impact turbines have on bird and bat populations is undeniable, a frequent soundbite used by those who oppose the construction of wind power installations – yet, at the same time, it is far below that of fossil fuels, or indeed, glass windows. Abi Millar talks to Joel Merriman of the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and Christine Sutter of Natural Power about what is being done to minimise bird and bat fatalities caused by wind turbines.


I 20


n October 2020, Donald Trump reiterated his infamous stance against wind energy. “I know more about wind than you do,” he told Joe Biden during the presidential debate. “It’s extremely expensive. Kills all the birds.”


His claims were roundly mocked in the media. A


Vox article pointed out that, were the president truly concerned about birds, he would be directing his ire towards cats. These cuddly predators kill around 2.4 billion birds in the US every year, compared with


234,000 for wind turbines. Even the windows in a house are more of a menace, with 599 million annual bird deaths caused by building glass collisions. These stats, from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, present an obvious counterpoint to Trump’s obfuscation, and may seem like an argument for letting wind developers off the hook. According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), “appropriately located wind farms have negligible impacts on bird populations”. What’s more, wind


World Wind Technology / www.worldwind-technology.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33