{"id":14298,"date":"2020-08-12T15:59:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-12T12:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4vultures.org\/?p=14298"},"modified":"2025-05-05T15:47:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T12:47:10","slug":"research-review-study-shows-that-painting-a-single-wind-turbine-blade-black-reduces-bird-collision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/4vultures.org\/pt\/blog\/research-review-study-shows-that-painting-a-single-wind-turbine-blade-black-reduces-bird-collision\/","title":{"rendered":"Research review: Study shows that painting a single wind turbine blade black reduces bird collision"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Wind turbine in the Sm\u00f8la wind\u2010power plant with painted rotor blade (May et al., 2020)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A recently published research article<\/a> finally provides evidence that painting a single wind turbine blade black reduces collision by 70%, and is particularly effective for large birds of prey, and therefore probably also vultures. The paper was published in Ecology and Evolution <\/em>by researchers from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research<\/a>, Norway, and the Lake \u00c5nnsj\u00f6n Bird Observatory, Duved, Sweden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The climate change crisis has promoted the innovation and development of renewable energy sources globally, with the wind-power energy sector exponentially growing. However, as the scope and scale of wind power plants increases, wildlife and habitats suffer. Birds, in particular, cannot easily see the wind turbines blades, mostly when in motion, which can lead to collision and subsequently, mortality. Although this is a growing threat, there are very few effective deterrent or mitigation measures already developed to reduce the risk of collisions, including selective shutdown along a migratory flyway for soaring birds and tilling the soil around the tower base. Both these measures, however, come at a cost, either through revenue loss or annual habitat management, respectively. Therefore, a practical and functional measure will prove vital in reducing bird-related mortality with wind energy production, as it can be potentially industrialized and implemented without delays. A proposed measure to achieve this was painting one wind turbine blade black to increase visibility. However, there was no concrete evidence that this method was effective until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Method<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study took place in the Sm\u00f8la wind\u2010power plant, situated on the northwest side of the main island of Sm\u00f8la, which is an archipelago located off the coast of M\u00f8re & Romsdal County, Central Norway. It was built in two phases \u2014 the first phase consisting of twenty 2.1 MW turbines finished in September 2002, while the second phase incorporated an additional 48 2.3 MW turbines by August 2005. In August 2013, one of three rotor blades were painted black at four of the 2.1 MW turbines with previously recorded carcasses. Neighbouring turbines, also with previously recorded carcasses, were defined as control turbines (i.e. not painted) for fatality searches. The researchers then compared painted with control turbines before and after treatment with an extensive and long\u2010term baseline data available from regular fatality searches using trained dogs from the beginning of 2006 until the end of 2016, rendering seven and a half years before and three and a half years after treatment. The researchers performed a statistical analysis to test for effects of rotor blade painting on annual fatality rates, before and after painting following a before-after-control- impact (BACI) approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Results<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n