Scientists Find Successful Way To Reduce Bat Deaths At Wind Turbines

[Chuck]

Bats are killed because a sudden drop in air pressure near the blades caused injuries to the bats' lungs known as barotrauma.

SCIENCEDAILY - Sept 28, 2009

First application: Power the Batmobile! --Ed.

Scientists at the University of Calgary have found a way to reduce bat deaths from wind turbines by up to 60 percent without significantly reducing the energy generated from the wind farm. The research, recently published in the Journal of Wildlife Management, demonstrates that slowing turbine blades to near motionless in low-wind periods significantly reduces bat mortality.

"Biologically, this makes sense as bats are more likely to fly when wind speeds are relatively low. When it's really windy, which is when the turbines are reaping the most energy, bats don't like to fly. There is a potential for biology and economics to mesh nicely," says U of C biology professor Robert Barclay, who co-authored the paper with PhD student Erin Baerwald of the U of C as well as with Jason Edworthy and Matt Holder of TransAlta Corporation....[Read More]

[booferama]

The Joker will be disappointed.

[Shiba3420]

Something seems to be missing/wrong in that report. Bat's have a faily high metabolism. I don't think they can afford to not feed during high winds, but then again catching bugs in high winds may be difficult and not worth the energy. However we have all seen that birds get lower to the ground during high winds as the ground produces turbulance and makes the wind speeds much lower. I would think that bats follow the same rules and keep low...under the blades of turbines.