Wind Turbines Don’t Kill Birds, Birds Kill Birds

Well, not exactly, but I couldn’t resist the play on words.

Photo by Francesco De Tommaso on Unsplash

“Wind turbines kill birds”, is a common statement you’ll hear made by animal activists who file lawsuits against wind farm companies in the hopes that the lives of birds will be spared from this dreadful evil. Nevermind the greater impact of not transitioning our power grid to carbon-free sources. The lives of birds must be saved.

The problem is, the data shows that relatively few birds are killed by wind turbines. In fact, death-by-wind-turbine accounts for roughly one-tenth of a percent of all birds killed in the United States every year.

So why does everyone get all up in arms, sorry, up in feathers, about wind turbines smiting birds?

It all began with a study conducted by the California Energy Commission in response to multiple incidents of raptors colliding with wind turbines located in the Altamont and Tehachapi wind plants in California. Raptors died in the hundreds, which drew the attention of activists and conservationists. The misconceptions about turbine-related bird deaths began when the numbers from this study were extrapolated to encompass the fatality rate experienced at every wind farm found in the United States. This resulted in the numbers of birds dying from impact with a wind turbine to become extremely over-inflated. The problem with this is that the Altamont and Tehachapi wind plants are exceptions, not the rule.

The high rate of death experienced at the Altamont and Tehachapi wind plants is due to poor planning, which resulted in the wind farms being built along a primary raptor migration corridor. Due to the high traffic conditions of the area, it was only a matter of time before a large number of birds who wintered there fell victim to the wind turbines newly located in the area.

Not only was poor planning the result of the demise of many raptor species in the area, but so too was the actual design of the wind turbines themselves. The problem with old wind turbines is that they were engineered to use latticework blades which actually attract raptors who are looking for a place to perch. Nowadays, engineers have opted for thinner, more efficient turbine blades that spin at slower speeds, that reduce the likelihood of bird-on-blade collisions.

So what are the actual numbers concerning bird mortality?

In Canada, collisions with wind turbines don’t even rank in the top nine leading causes of bird death, according to CBC.

Here are the top causes of bird fatalities according to Environment Canada:

1. Domestic and feral cats: 200 million
2. Power lines — collisions and electrocutions: 25 million
3. Collision with houses or buildings: 25 million
4. Vehicle collisions: 14 million
5. Game bird hunting: 5 million
6. Agricultural pesticides: 2.7 million
7. Agricultural mowing: 2.2 million young birds, equivalent to one million adult birds
8. Commercial forestry: 1.4 million nests, equivalent to 900,000 adult birds
9. Communications towers: 220,000

How many bird deaths are caused annually by wind turbines? 16,700.

So, of the approximately 186,429,559 birds that die every year in Canada, 0.0098% of those deaths are caused by wind turbines.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a lover of all creatures with fur and feathers, and I hate to see any birds die needlessly. However, we really need to look at the actual causes of bird mortality instead of pointing fingers at the wrong suspects.

So what’s being done to mitigate wind turbine-related bird deaths?

Well, as mentioned above, wind turbines have been engineered to use thinner, more efficient turbine blades that spin at slower speeds. First, this reduces the likelihood of a bird choosing a turbine as a place to roost. Second, the slower blade speeds help reduce the chance of collisions.

To mitigate the issue of placing wind farms in migratory paths (as was the unfortunate case with the Altamont and Tehachapi wind farms), wind energy companies are now working with scientists and wildlife officials to figure out the best places to locate wind farms. With migratory routes often well understood and mapped out, it’s now easy for wind farms to be placed in locations that promote the efficient collection of wind energy and are also well out of the way of large migratory flocks.

Another method of reducing avian fatalities is to paint one of three blades black. Researchers who conducted this experiment on an island-based wind farm in Norway found that the annual fatality rate was reduced by over 70% relative to the rate experienced by unpainted wind turbines.

Finally, installing radar on wind turbines has been another relatively successful method for protecting birds. By using radar to detect birds, wind turbines can be slowed or shut down when birds are in the vicinity.

With wind power expected to increase over the coming decades, it’s natural that more birds are going to die as a result of collisions with these turbines. However, birds are more at risk of death from the common household feline than from zero-carbon energy producing sources.

So, if you want to save the birds, put a leash on your kitty, and accept that wind power is here to stay.