Wind farms and birds - the SSS Specificity

Transcription

1 Wind farms and birds - the SSS Specificity Experiences and recommendations for mitigation Marc Reichenbach 1

2 Possible impacts of wind turbines on birds have been discussed during the last 20 years Despite lots of studies in Europe and the USA there is still a high degree of uncertainty how to deal with this conflict Result: o On the one hand: neglecting and simplifying o On the other hand: exaggerations of fears Aim of this presentation: o Which problems do really matter? o How to deal with it in a case-by-case approach (with focus on mitigation) 2

3 Collision Species mainly affected are: Raptors and Gulls Possible Impacts on Birds Griffon vulture Herring Gull 3

4 Collision Possible Impacts on Birds Species mainly affected are: Raptors and Gulls Collision victim database Tobias Dürr; 18th January 2011 Species AT BE BG CZ D DK ESP FR GB GR NL NOR PL SWE Total Griffon Vulture White tailed Sea-eagle RedKite Common Buzzard Kestrel Black-Headed Gull (65% of recorded fatalities in Europe) HerringGull Lesser BlackbackedGull Total All species

5 Displacement due to disturbance Possible Impacts on Birds Species mainly affected are waders and waterbirds (especially in the resting period, breedings birds are less sensitive) Number of breedings birds Breeding Lapwings and their distance to wind turbines in Hinrichsfehn Distance [m] Number of staging birds Expected values Staging Lapwings and their distance to wind turbines in Hinrichsfehn Distance [m] Expected values 5

6 To avoid conflicts wind farms should not be realised on following sites (PERCIVAL 2005, DREWITT & LANGSTON 2006): 1. Sites with a high density of certain birds of prey prone to a high risk of collision 2. Sites with a high density of other species having a low reproduction rate and a high risk of collision 3. Sites where breeding and resting birds would be disturbed and displaced from important habitat areas 6

7 SSS-Specificity The SSS-Specificity (BEVANGER 2011): 1. Site 2. Species 3. Season Every step should be focused on the SSS-specificity of the individual planning case, especially Field methods for pre- and post-construction surveys measures measures Importance of scoping in EIA: early identification of specificities, ensuring possibilities of adapting the survey and planning concepts with growing data acquisition 7

8 Example from Scotland (SNH 2005/2010) 1. Standard Survey with relatively low effort (e.g. only 3 excursions for upland habitats) 2. Searching nest-sites of target species up to 6 km 3. Vantage Point Watches as main focus for target species within 2 km Duration of flight activity bird utilisation rate, percentage of flight time in rotor height 8

9 Example from Scotland (SNH 2005/2010) Results and consequences 9

10 Example from Bulgaria 10

11 Example from Bulgaria Result: Wind farm position more inland less harmful than locations directly at the coast line 11

12 Example from South-East Australia BAM-Plan (Bat and avifaunamanagement plan) If post-monitoring detects any significant impact, habitat enhancement is implemented (not in advance); BAM-Plan contains (on the basis of a pre-survey): an overall strategy for managing and mitigating any significant bird and bat strike requirements for periodic reporting of the findings of the monitoring a strategy to offset any impacts detected during monitoring, for example improvement of habitat away from the wind farm to improve breeding productivity 12

13 Examples and possibilities Other possibilities of mitigation: Micro-siting: Staging Geese Temporary shut-down, raising cut-in speed, combination with radar Avoid thermal upwind situations (e.g. mountain ridges), which might attract soaring birds 13

14 Example from Spain (MUNOZ et al. 2011) 1. There are very significant differences in mortality rates of adjacent wind farms, with the fatalities concentrated in few turbines. 2. There is an urgent need to improve assessment tools to a priori identify those locations where the risk of collision is high. 3. The selective turbine stopping is a useful mitigation measure, especially when focusing on the most dangerous turbines during migratory periods. 14

15 Example from Portugal (PAULA et al. 2011) The off-site mitigation strategy: Conservation plan for wild rabbit inside golden eagle s territories and far-off the power line to avoid line crossing and increase eagle s reproduction success 15

16 Example from Germany for Montague s Harrier nest site can change every year. wind farms are used for foraging and even breeding without any avoidance flight activity in rotor height is concentrated in a 500 m-radius around the nest site collision risk is especially high in the vicinity of the nest site distance between nest site and wind turbines is the crucial factor for collision risk. 16

17 Example from Germany for Montague s Harrier GRAJETZKY et al. (2010): Flight activity [min / ha] Distance from nest site [m] 17

18 Example from Germany for Montague s Harrier Selected habitat management as possible solution: creation of breeding habitats in a safe distance from wind farms and close to attractive feeding habitats creation of attractive feeding habitats in a safe distance monitoring and protection of nest sites If necessary temporary shut-down of turbines, if breeding sites are closer than 500 m General problem of exclusion zones for wind farms around nest sites in national or regional plans: only appropriate for species with a high breeding site fidelity and where the nest sites are well known 18

19 Example from Scotland: WALKER et al. (2005) for the Golden eagle Pre-construction Post-construction Forest clearing to create new foraging habitat Concentration of flight lines in the felled area and away from the wind farm 19

20 for meadow birds Luneplate at the river Weser in northern Germany (compensation for harbour expansion) 20

21 for meadow birds Number of breeding pairs Lapwing Skylark Redshank 21

22 Other possibilities Habitat creation Use of compensation pools Identify and remove other mortality factors 22

23 Each planning case has its own SSS-specificity depending on the conditions of the Site, the target Species which occur and the relevant Season in which they might be affected It is the important role of the scoping process to focus the efforts of surveys and mitigation on the individual case Site Species Season survey 23

24 In the far majority of cases, the conflict can be handled by carefully investigating and mitigating the possible impacts (but some locations are just unfavourable) There are many ways of mitigating the impacts of wind turbines on birds using the best available knowledge and techniques The essential approach for this is the SSS-specificity. Site Species Season Survey Technique 24

25 Gliederung Punkt 2 Punkt 3 Thank you very much for your attention! Dr Marc Reichenbach ARSU GmbH reichenbach@arsu.de Black-tailed godwit 25