Birds and wind farms: where next? · Birds and wind farms: where next? ROWENA H. W. LANGSTON*...
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Langston, R.H.W. 2010. BOU Proceedings – Climate Change and Birds. http://www.bou.org.uk/bouproc‐net/ccb/langston.pdf © 2010 BOU & The Author(s) 1 This paper forms part of the proceedings from the BOU conference Climate Change and Birds . Other papers from these proceedings can be viewed at www.BOUPROC.net . Birds and wind farms: where next? ROWENA H. W. LANGSTON* Conservation Science Department, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL, UK *Email: [email protected] The UK has 20 years of experience of wind energy generation, initially onshore. The first pilot offshore wind farm dates from 2000. The EU Renewable Energy Directive target requires the UK to meet 15% of its energy supply from renewable sources by 2020. This is equivalent to 35–45% of electricity and places heavy reliance on wind energy for its delivery, requiring a substantial increase over the current 4.5 GW installed capacity. Estimates vary as to the exact scale of expansion needed, but it is generally thought that onshore wind generation will need to increase to 13–15 GW by 2020, and offshore wind generation to 25–30 GW installed capacity during the same period. In response to these ambitious targets, there has been an order-of-magnitude increase in potential offshore wind energy projects, spearheaded by the Crown Estate (Fig. 1). The UK is of outstanding international importance for its breeding seabirds and migratory waterbirds, for which we host a high proportion of the biogeographical populations of several species, notably breeding Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus, Northern Gannet Morus bassanus, Great Skua Catharacta skua and Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus. So what do we know about the effects on birds of wind farms in the marine environment? What are the challenges for studying possible effects on birds and how do we tackle them? What options are available to us for minimizing risk and for minimizing any impacts that might arise? Impacts on birds The potentially beneficial effect of renewable energy generation is the associated reduction in emissions contributing to global climate disruption. However, wind farms also produce adverse effects on birds that are highly species- and location-specific, i.e. not all bird species or locations are equally vulnerable. The principle concerns are as follows (Drewitt & Langston 2006): (1) disturbance displacement, (2) collision, (3) habitat loss/change and (4) barriers to movement. In particular, the cumulative or in combination effects are of greatest concern, whereby the multiplicative effect across wind farms, unchecked, may lead to significant risk of population reduction. Although there have been studies at existing offshore and coastal wind farms (e.g. Desholm & Kahlert 2005; Everaert & Stienen 2007), uncertainties remain about the magnitude of environmental impacts. Most studies at offshore wind farms have focused on migratory waterbirds, rather than breeding seabirds. Mitigation for offshore wind farms is likely to differ from that onshore, and may include onshore measures at seabird breeding colonies, although aspects such as wind farm design and layout will be just as applicable offshore.
Transcript of Birds and wind farms: where next? · Birds and wind farms: where next? ROWENA H. W. LANGSTON*...
Langston,R.H.W.2010.BOU Proceedings – Climate Change and Birds.http://www.bou.org.uk/bouproc‐net/ccb/langston.pdf
©2010BOU&TheAuthor(s) 1
This paper forms part of the proceedings from the BOU conference Cl imate Change and Birds . Other papers from these proceedings can be viewed at www.BOUPROC.net.
Birds and wind farms: where next?
ROWENA H. W. LANGSTON*
Conservation Science Department, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy,
Bedfordshire SG19 2DL, UK
*Email: [email protected]
The UK has 20 years of experience of wind energy generation, initially onshore. The first pilot offshore wind farm dates from 2000. The EU Renewable Energy Directive target requires the UK to meet 15% of its energy supply from renewable sources by 2020. This is equivalent to 35–45% of electricity and places heavy reliance on wind energy for its delivery, requiring a substantial increase over the current 4.5 GW installed capacity. Estimates vary as to the exact scale of expansion needed, but it is generally thought that onshore wind generation will need to increase to 13–15 GW by 2020, and offshore wind generation to 25–30 GW installed capacity during the same period. In response to these ambitious targets, there has been an order-of-magnitude increase in potential offshore wind energy projects, spearheaded by the Crown Estate (Fig. 1). The UK is of outstanding international importance for its breeding seabirds and migratory waterbirds, for which we host a high proportion of the biogeographical populations of several species, notably breeding Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus, Northern Gannet Morus bassanus, Great Skua Catharacta skua and Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus. So what do we know about the effects on birds of wind farms in the marine environment? What are the challenges for studying possible effects on birds and how do we tackle them? What options are available to us for minimizing risk and for minimizing any impacts that might arise? Impacts on birds The potentially beneficial effect of renewable energy generation is the associated reduction in emissions contributing to global climate disruption. However, wind farms also produce adverse effects on birds that are highly species- and location-specific, i.e. not all bird species or locations are equally vulnerable. The principle concerns are as follows (Drewitt & Langston 2006): (1) disturbance displacement, (2) collision, (3) habitat loss/change and (4) barriers to movement. In particular, the cumulative or in combination effects are of greatest concern, whereby the multiplicative effect across wind farms, unchecked, may lead to significant risk of population reduction. Although there have been studies at existing offshore and coastal wind farms (e.g. Desholm & Kahlert 2005; Everaert & Stienen 2007), uncertainties remain about the magnitude of environmental impacts. Most studies at offshore wind farms have focused on migratory waterbirds, rather than breeding seabirds. Mitigation for offshore wind farms is likely to differ from that onshore, and may include onshore measures at seabird breeding colonies, although aspects such as wind farm design and layout will be just as applicable offshore.
Langston,R.H.W.2010.BOU Proceedings – Climate Change and Birds.http://www.bou.org.uk/bouproc‐net/ccb/langston.pdf
©2010BOU&TheAuthor(s) 2
Figure 1. Proposed offshore wind development areas in UK waters (information courtesy of The Crown Estate).
Langston,R.H.W.2010.BOU Proceedings – Climate Change and Birds.http://www.bou.org.uk/bouproc‐net/ccb/langston.pdf
©2010BOU&TheAuthor(s) 3
Targeted pre-construction studies Once the range of species present in each wind farm proposal area has been established, from a combination of existing information and baseline surveys, further studies should focus on addressing specific questions for priority species relevant to each zone or application area, as required to improve our understanding of the potential environmental effects of wind farms. The scoping stage of environmental impact assessments will be crucial to ensure that resources are targeted at the most relevant studies. Variability in species vulnerability is an important consideration in the different stages of offshore wind development, not least because there is a progressive movement further offshore with plans for larger scale installations than hitherto proposed. The increased distance offshore not only alters the suite of bird species of relevance but also compounds the difficulty of studying the effects, necessitating greater reliance on remote techniques and computer modelling. However, model validation still requires data collection. Clearly defined objectives and quantification of the uncertainties in such models are essential to underpin good decisions. A key requirement of environmental impact assessment is to determine the effects on Special Protection Areas (SPAs; Council Directive 2009/147/EC) and the bird species that contribute to the qualifying interest of SPAs. There are SPAs designated for breeding seabirds around a sizeable portion of the UK coastline, notably in Scotland and eastern England. Foraging ranges vary both within and between species, and within and between seasons. Food availability and distribution in any one year will influence foraging range, as does the stage of the annual cycle. Provisioning growing chicks is a particularly demanding stage of the breeding season and different species have different adaptations for dealing with these pressures. Tracking individual birds to establish foraging areas in relation to specific coastal breeding colonies and particular wind energy development areas will be an important component of determining which SPAs are most likely to be relevant to a particular proposal. There are parallels, in terms of data requirements, with work to increase our understanding of the ecology and environmental determinants of birds at sea, and to identify marine protected areas. Increasingly, novel technologies are being deployed to track birds, in particular to investigate foraging behaviour. Radiotelemetry has been used to track birds over relatively short distances and short timescales, e.g. Little Terns Sternula albifrons from breeding colonies in Norfolk, eastern England, in relation to Scroby Sands offshore wind farm (Perrow et al. 2006). Satellite telemetry or GPS/GSM data loggers will be essential tools for tracking seabirds over greater distances (e.g. Burger & Shaffer 2008, Griffin et al. 2010). Prioritization of study species depends on their distribution and ecology, notably their risk profile in relation to wind turbines, and conservation status in the UK and internationally. An ecologically based sensitivity index (Garthe & Hüppop 2004), developed in Germany, could have wider applicability for determining species-specific risk of impacts attributable to wind farms. The short timescale in which the next phase of offshore wind farms are planned to come forward makes it all the more essential to focus further research where it is needed most and has the best chance of delivering useful results. Related website http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/langston_2010_tcm9-203501.pdf Acknowledgements I thank The Crown Estate and RSPB’s Conservation Data Unit for figure production.
Langston,R.H.W.2010.BOU Proceedings – Climate Change and Birds.http://www.bou.org.uk/bouproc‐net/ccb/langston.pdf
©2010BOU&TheAuthor(s) 4
References Burger, A.E. & Shaffer, S.A. 2008. Application of tracking and data-logging technology in research and conservation of
seabirds. Auk 125: 253–264. Desholm, M. & Kahlert, J. 2005. Avian collision risk at an offshore wind farm. Royal Society Biol. Lett. 1: 296–298. Drewitt, A.L. & Langston, R.H.W. 2006. Assessing the impacts of wind farms on birds. In Wind, Fire and Water: Renewable
Energy and Birds. Proceedings of the BOU Conference, University of Leicester, 1–3 April 2005. Ibis 148 (suppl. 1): 29–42. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/118619864/PDFSTART Everaert, J. & Stienen, E.W.M. 2007. Impact of wind turbines on birds in Zeebrugge (Belgium): significant effect on
breeding tern colony due to collisions. Biodiversity Conserv. 16: 3345–3359. Garthe, S. & Hüppop, O. 2004. Scaling possible adverse effects of marine wind farms on seabirds: developing and applying
a vulnerability index. J. Appl. Ecol. 41: 724–734. Griffin, L., Rees, E. & Hughes, B. 2010. Whooper swan migration in relation to offshore wind farms. BOU Proceedings –
Climate Change and Birds. http://www.bou.org.uk/bouproc-net/ccb/griffin-etal.pdf Perrow, M.R., Skeate, E.R., Lines, P., Brown, D. & Tomlinson, M.L. 2006. Radio telemetry as a tool for assessing impacts of
windfarms: the case of Little Terns Sterna albifrons at Scroby Sands, Norfolk, UK. Ibis 148 (suppl. 1): 57–75. http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/langston_2010_tcm9-203501.pdf
CITATION: Langston, R.H.W. 2010. Birds and wind farms: where next? BOU Proceedings – Climate Change and Birds. http://www.bou.org.uk/bouproc-net/ccb/langston.pdf
