Oregon-based Iberdrola Renewables has adopted what is arguably the most holistic policy to protect avian and bat populations in the wind energy industry. The plan is modeled in part after the 2005 avian protection plan template (pdf) developed by the Edison Institute and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to address the impacts of transmission and distribution lines on birds.

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Researchers at the University of Calgary found that the vast majority of bats found dead at a wind farm in Southwest Alberta suffered severe injuries to their respiratory systems consistent with a sudden drop in air pressure - called barotrauma.¹ The findings, published in the most recent issue of the journal Current Biology could potentially have far-reaching consequences on bat populations.

Barotrauma is a condition resulting from drastic changes in air pressure occurring, for example, when the bats fly through an area where the pressure drops dramatically, such as it does near a spinning turbine blade.

Historically, less than one bat fatality per turbine per year is considered normal, according to scientists. At this particular wind farm, the numbers were closer to 18 bats per turbine. But researchers found that the vast majority of dead bats had no visible trauma, as if they were being struck by a blade tip moving at 250 km/hr.

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