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Historical Challenges of Wind 

Energy/Wildlife Interactions: How 

This May Affect Distributed Wind

ASES Wind Division Webinar Series

Karin Sinclair

August 12, 2014

NREL/PR-5000-62492
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Presentation Outline

• Historical overview

• Statutory authority

• Challenges

• Key species habitat 

distribution

• Research

• Collaboratives

• Distributed wind 

definition

• Conclusions Entegrity EW50, 50-kilowatt (kW) turbine, 

Kittery, Maine 

Photo by Donald Doval, NREL 28427
3

Overview: Concern for Impacts to Wildlife

Issue: Wind turbines may impact wildlife (especially birds and bats) and habitats

• The discussion of wind’s impact 

on wildlife began in Altamont 

Wind Resource Area, California, 

in the late 1980s and early 

1990s

• Small and 

distributed 

projects often 

face challenges 

on this issue as 

well. 

Bergey Excel 10. 10-kW wind turbines; Oak Hills, California. Photo by Karin Sinclair, NREL 14986

Junction Hill Top Wind Farm, Iowa. 

Five GE 1.6-megawatt (MW) 

turbines. Photo by Tom Wind, NREL 

26494 
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Overview: U.S. Department of Energy Wind Program’s Mission

• Reduce challenges to project development to 

accelerate deployment of appropriate wind 

energy

• Support the 20% wind energy by 2030 initiative (Advanced Energy Initiative)

• Accelerate wind energy capacity growth/development of domestic energy options (Energy Policy Act of 2005).

Northwind 100, 100-kW wind turbine; 

Hempstead, New York. Photo by Town 

of Hempstead, NREL 28963
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Overview: Main Points

• Real or perceived wildlife impacts can 

be a challenge for development

• Misinformation on potential of impacts 

is rampant

• Impacts are species- and habitat-specific

• Impacts are site-specific; micrositing is 

critical to reducing these impacts

• Potential impacts at a large wind farm 

will likely be different than at a single 

small wind turbine

• Developers of distributed projects must 

still be aware of potential issues.

Bergey Excel 10, 10-kW wind turbine; Oak Hills, California.

Photo by Karin Sinclair, NREL 14983

Eight Nordex N60, 1300-kW wind turbines; 

Garrett, Pennsylvania.

Photo by Green Mountain Energy Company, NREL 09699
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Bird Mortality at U.S. Wind Sites

Bat Mortality at U.S. Wind Sites

Source: NWCC Wind Turbine Interactions with Birds, Bats 

and their Habitats, 2010 www.nationalwind.org 

The average is about 3 birds/MW/year

The average is about 8 bats/MW/year
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Statutory Authority 

for Wind Permitting Guidelines

• Endangered Species Act:

o Directs service to identify and protect 

threatened and endangered (T&E) 

species and their critical habitat

o Must provide a means to protect T&E 

species ecosystems.

• Migratory Bird Treaty Act:

o Based on a strict liability statute

o Proof of intent, knowledge, or negligence 

is not an element of a Migratory Bird 

Treaty Act violation

o Actions resulting in the ‘taking’ or 

possession of a protected species, in the 

absence of a service permit or regulatory 

authorization, is a violation.

• Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act:

o Bald and golden eagles are afforded 

additional legal protection.

Bald Eagle. NREL 01101

Whooping Crane. Photo by Karin Sinclair, NREL 27961
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Released March 2012

A Tiered Approach:

• Tier 1 – Preliminary site evaluation 

(landscape-scale screening of 

possible project sites)

• Tier 2 – Site characterization (broad 

characterization of one or more 

potential project sites)

• Tier 3 – Field studies to document 

site wildlife and habitat and predict 

project impacts

• Tier 4 – Post-construction studies to 

estimate impacts

• Tier 5 – Other post-construction 

studies and research.

The USFWS Wind Energy Wildlife Guidelines
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USFWS Guidelines: Developer and Service Roles 
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Challenges

• Habitat and species likely to be impacted vary by climate, 

topography, and location

• No single solution 

• Impacts expected to increase as more turbines are 

installed across the country—but these can be managed.

Addressing the Challenges:

• Identification of near-term research needs 

• Multipronged approach

• Multistakeholder involvement

• Support for collaborative field research, methods/metrics 

refinement, tools, mitigation strategies, deterrent 

development/testing 

• Information dissemination.
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Challenges: Key Issues Being Addressed

Impacts of wind turbines on wildlife: 

•Bats (mortality)

•Raptors (mortality)

•Nocturnal migration (mortality)

•Prairie birds (habitat – displacement; genetic 

diversity)

•Cumulative (population impacts).

Tools to avoid problematic sites:

•Federal and state guidelines

•Pre versus post construction validation

•Mapping of migratory pathways

•Pre-siting assessments

•Risk assessments

•Literature archive

•Peer review. Sage Grouse. NREL 20649 
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Key Species Habitat Distribution

Wildlife distribution can impact local areas very differently. On a 

national scale, 44%–53% of land could be affected.

Areas in grey 

indicate where 

wildlife species live, 

breed, and migrate. 

These areas are not

no-build zones, but 

are of special 

concern for 

developers that 

could increase costs 

and time, or lead to 

project delays or 

cancellation.
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Key Species Habitat Distribution

Golden eagle habitat: areas requiring additional consideration
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Key Species Habitat Distribution

Bald eagle habitat: areas requiring additional consideration
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Key Species Habitat Distribution

Sage grouse habitat and breeding sites: areas requiring additional consideration
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Key Species Habitat Distribution

Whooping crane habitat and migratory corridor: areas requiring additional consideration
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Key Species Habitat Distribution

Indiana bat habitat distribution: areas requiring additional consideration
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Cumulative Impacts

Estimate (based on NREL 

WindDS model):

• 2,158 MW by year 2020

• 33,000–62,000 bats/year

Estimate (based on PJM grid 

model):

• 3,856 MW by year 2020

• 59,000–111,000 bats/year

The crucial issue is whether these impacts affect whole 

populations of certain species. Commonly found bats at 

wind facilities could experience the following cumulative 

impacts in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands:

• 9,500–32,000 hoary bats/year

• 11,500–38,000 eastern red bats/year

• 1,500–6,000 silver-haired bats/year

Kunz et al. 2007. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 5:315-324

In the Mid-Atlantic Highlands, cumulative impacts to bats 

under two modeling scenarios are estimated as follows:
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Mitigation Research

Mitigation research focuses on:

•Deterrent development

•Correlating wind speed to 

utilization

•Correlating weather patterns to 

fatality patterns

•Offsite compensation

•Micrositing

•Turbine size

•Blade visibility

•Seasonal shutdowns

•Habitat manipulation 

•Artificial roosts.

Greater Prairie Chicken. Photo by Mark 

Herse, Kansas State University, NREL 

27970. 
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Technology/Model Research

Technology/modeling research 

is focused on:

• Radar validation

• Thermal imaging cameras

• Near-infrared cameras

• Indirect fatality indicators

• Stable isotopes

• Predictive models.

Infrared camera.

Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL 20338. 
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Key Species Habitat Distribution

Combined wildlife impacts: areas requiring additional consideration
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ALL REGIONS

11%

3%

74%

1%

1%

2% 1%

6%

1%

Doves/Pigeons

Game birds

Other Birds

Passerines

Rails/Coots

Raptors/Vultures

Shorebirds

Unidentified Birds

Water birds 

Waterfowl

Proportion of fatalities at sites reporting fatalities by species, for all regions where studies have been 

conducted (the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, Rocky Mountains, and East). 

Source: Strickland and Morrison, February 26, 2008. 

http://www.fws.gov/habitatconservation/windpower/Past_Meeting_Presentations/Morrison_Strickland.pdf

Research: Species Composition of Bird Fatalities 
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Collaboratives

• National Wind Coordinating Collaborative – Federal, state, 

utilities, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and wind 

industry

• Grassland Shrub Steppe Species Collaborative (G3SC) –

Federal, state, NGOs, and wind industry

• Sage Grouse Collaborative – Federal, state, NGOs, and wind 

industry

• Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative (BWEC) – Federal, state, 

NGOs, and wind industry

• American Wind Wildlife Institute (AWWI) – Industry and 

NGOs

• International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Task 34 – Numerous 

countries; early stages of organization. 

Current collaboratives include:
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Distributed Wind Definition

• Based on where the project is located and how the 

power is used; the distributed wind market includes 

wind turbines and projects of many sizes.

o Is defined in terms of technology application based 

on a wind project’s location relative to end-use and 

power-distribution infrastructure, rather than on 

technology size or project size 

o Is the use of wind turbines at homes, farms and 

ranches, businesses, public and industrial facilities, 

and off-grid locations to offset all or a portion of 

local energy consumption or systems directly 

connected to the local grid to support local loads

o Can range in size from a 1-kW or smaller off-grid 

wind turbine at a remote cabin to a 10-kW turbine 

at a home or farm to several multimegawatt wind 

turbines at a university campus, manufacturing 

facility, or any large facility. 

Bergey Excel 10, 10-kW turbine, 

Klickitat County, Washington

Photo by Gwen Bassetti, NREL 26429
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Conclusions

• Wind-wildlife impact concerns are complicated.

• Micrositing is key to avoiding, minimizing, and mitigating 

impacts. However, some locations may not be 

appropriate for wind 

development.

• Research and development of 

tools is continuing.

• USFWS Wind Energy Guidelines

include distributed wind; 

conducting Tier 1 and Tier 2 

evaluations are likely sufficient.

Endurance E3120 turbine; 50-kW turbine; 

Appleton, Wisconsin. Photo by Kettle View 

Renewable Energy, LLC, NREL 28428. 
Contact:

Karin Sinclair

Karin.sinclair@nrel.gov

(303) 384-6946