How to avoid killing birds with wind turbines

[brewnog]

I have to admit that when brewnog posted the picture, the first thing I thought was, "Oh, windmills!" But then after a moment of reflection, realized there's no mill attached. Nonetheless, I think that's what us non-engineer-types call those things when we see them. Ooh, we can make them very brightly-colored and call them pinwheels.
Okay, I'll shut up now. [/size]

We tend to call them Wind Farms, but that's when there's more than one of them, I don't suppose you get them on their own.

Stunningly beautiful things though. I was driving back from a job interview a few months back, and went past a wind farm on some clifftops in the Lake District, just as the sun was setting over the sea behind them. I had to stop and watch them for a few minutes, they're gorgeous. They're just so slender and slow moving (in a spinny way), when they're silhouetted they're almost as beautiful as suspension bridges.

One of the biggest arguments used against wind farms is that they're an eyesore, and that they're noisy. Strangely, one study showed that people who live near them are more likely to support their use and slate these issues.

 

[willib]

I think its strange that on page two of this thread are Bird control Products for sale..,
and wind generators for sale...

 

[Loren Booda]

How about including a wind-driven whistle like those mounted on some cars?

How to avoid killing birds with picture windows? Decals?

 

[Danger]

They are not milling grain or wood, Danger.

Well, they could be. I mean, really now... it doesn't show what's going on in those little buildings.

Two vertical-axis types of wind turbines are the Darrieus ("eggbeater") and the Savonius.

I'd forgotten about the Savonius type. It's the Darrieus that I was thinking of. Of both types, though, the ones that I've seen were an awful lot higher in proportion to their diameter than the ones shown in your link.

 

[Moonbear]

How about including a wind-driven whistle like those mounted on some cars?

Someone else mentioned that earlier...Russ I think. Not sure if it would work or not. Does anyone know if they work against birds when they're on cars? And would something like that reduce the efficiency of the turbines by creating additional drag?

How to avoid killing birds with picture windows? Decals?

I like using those sun catchers. Putting screens on your windows works too, for two reasons actually, 1) you don't get that bright reflection of the outdoors on the window and 2) if the bird flies into it anyway, they bounce off the screen - I've seen birds do this and they seem to sit on the ground stunned a moment, but then fly away seemingly unharmed, unlike when they smack right into hard glass.

I'm sure just not washing the windows will work too.

 

[pallidin]

For this type of problem, we must understand that a bird does not view the wind turbine as solid and, seemingly, does not account for it's rotation.
The trick, then, is to make the wind turbine appear solid.

Offset colored streamers attached to the blades could work during daytime.
You would have, say. 14 of them placed at equal intervals on the "first" blade starting from the top, and on the second and third blades they would be offset from the first placement intervals, giving an illusion of solidity in rotation.
But at night, gosh, that's tough. The least costly might be to use those same streamers and illuminated both the back and front with mirror directed strobe lights extended say, 4-feet from the generator, both front and back, thus illuminating the streamers.
Just my thoughts.

 

[hitssquad]

we must understand that a bird does not view the wind turbine as solid

Then why do birds perch on the spinning blades?

 

[hitssquad]

This is interesting:
http://www.ohiowind.org/ohiowind/page.cfm?pageID=2037

Early turbines were mounted on towers 60 to 80 feet in height and had rotors 50 to 60 feet in diameter which turned at rates of 60 to 80 revolutions per minute (rpm). Today's wind machines are mounted on towers 200 to 260 feet in height and have rotors ranging from 150 to 260 feet in diameter that turn at rates of 11 to 28 rpm. Although some turbine models allow rotors to “overspeed” briefly to accommodate abrupt wind gusts, blade tip speeds under normal operating conditions have not increased appreciably with the use of larger turbines. The turbine’s tip speed at rated output can range from 138-182 mph. The rotor speed range is 14.4-28.5 rpm.1 Large turbines produce much more electricity per machine than small turbines, and there are generally fewer machines with wider spacing in modern wind developments. Still larger turbines are being developed for the future.

 

[Dr.Brain]

We can use 'rotating-rings' , the angular speed of both the rings has to be setup in such a way that probability of bird entering in the 'ring-sphere' is minimum , the material to be used on the outside of these rings should be rubber (to avoid injuries if a bird strikes the rings ) or a shiny surface can be used on the outside of these rings , because these rings will rotate randomly covering every possible part of the sphere such that a bird coming in any direction and flying a good 15 metres away surely sees the sun's reflection in the shiny surface. Trust me i have seen birds flying away from sun's reflection because they can't see anything .

BJ

 

[hitssquad]

Darrieus turbine revisited

We can use 'rotating-rings'

The Darrieus turbine. It was mentioned above.

the angular speed of both the rings has to be setup in such a way that probability of bird entering in the 'ring-sphere' is minimum

Turbines have blades. Even Darrieus turbines have blades. Birds run into or get hit by those blades. This is the problem we are discussing.

the material to be used on the outside of these rings should be rubber (to avoid injuries if a bird strikes the rings)

Rubber amplifies the acceleration of striking objects and hence amplifies biological damage. This is why baseball helmets are not made of rubber.

 

[Dr.Brain]

Sorry but i am not expert on 'MATERIALS' , maybe material experts can find a better way out.I just explained a model which cam eout of mind.

BJ

 

[brewnog]

We can use 'rotating-rings' , the angular speed of both the rings has to be setup in such a way that probability of bird entering in the 'ring-sphere' is minimum

What, just adding more spinning things, but at even higher speeds?

I think that would work against the problem we're trying to solve. Not only will birds still be able to get into the turbine path, they'll also be able to get whacked by these rotating rings too.

 

[Dr.Brain]

What, just adding more spinning things, but at even higher speeds?

I think that would work against the problem we're trying to solve. Not only will birds still be able to get into the turbine path, they'll also be able to get whacked by these rotating rings too.

I had rather say 'poor birds' rather trying to solve the problem , I wish I could make them intelligent.

Anyways I would invite 'improvements' to my model rather than criticising the lack of intelligence of the birds

BJ

 

[Danger]

rather than criticising the lack of intelligence of the birds

The term 'bird-brain' did arise for a reason, you know.

What about flying randomly located mylar balloons around the area, with perhaps a bunch attached to the top of each tower? Maybe the combination of reflectiveness and erratic movement would scare the birds away. They could be illuminated with flood lights at night.

 

[Lisa!]

Please stop killing birds!You're even allowed to kill humans but not birds!
Maybe they cause some problem for them, so they can't find their direction!

 

[brewnog]

How about some absolutely massive scarecrows?

Just make some copies of The Angel of the North, dress it up in some rags and a big straw hat, and put one in every wind farm!

 

[Lisa!]

brewnog, are you ready to be killed instead of my birds?

 

[Danger]

brewnog, are you ready to be killed instead of my birds?

Your birds?
Good grief, woman... if they're yours, just keep them at home and we won't have this problem. Really, you people who let your pets roam free...

 

[Lisa!]

Your birds?
Good grief, woman... if they're yours, just keep them at home and we won't have this problem. Really, you people who let your pets roam free...

I do!But you don't know whole the world is my home ! (I recommend you not to call me woman, right! )

 

[Moonbear]

How about some absolutely massive scarecrows?

Just make some copies of The Angel of the North, dress it up in some rags and a big straw hat, and put one in every wind farm!

The whole scarecrow concept is why I lean toward skepticism that anything will really help. Ever look out in a garden or field with a scarecrow and see the crows perching on it?

I really suspect the problem is there's no way for the birds to learn. Those that fly too close end up dead before they can learn not to do that again.

 

[Loren Booda]

Paint the blades in such a manner that the birds feel threatened by the resulting (optical illusory) image.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I really suspect the problem is there's no way for the birds to learn. Those that fly too close end up dead before they can learn not to do that again.

Don't most birds stay fairly close to the ground? Is there a minimum height that could be considered?

 

[Danger]

(I recommend you not to call me woman, right! )

Got it, man... no problem.

Don't most birds stay fairly close to the ground?

That's pretty much when they're landing, taking off, or sleeping. Otherwise, they're fairly airborne.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Putting Wind Power's Effect On Birds In Perspective

Electricity generated from renewable energy resources is an environmentally-preferred alternative to conventionally produced electricity from fossil fuel and nuclear power plants. Many people believe that wind turbines should be part of the solution to a healthier environment, not part of the problem.

Over the past fifteen years, a number of reports have appeared in the popular press about wind turbines killing birds. Some writers have gone so far as to dub wind generators "raptor-matics" and "cuisinarts of the sky". Unfortunately, some of these articles have been used as "evidence" to stop the construction of a wind generator in someone's back yard. The reports of dead birds create a dilemma. Do wind generators really kill birds? If so, how serious is the problem? [continued]

http://www.awea.org/faq/sagrillo/swbirds.html

 

[Boffin]

Ivan, thanks for the report link about bird kills and wind turbines. I read it. Interesting to see actual statistics. But I think there is another futuristic aspect to this issue that needs to be addressed that is not covered by present statistics. Where are the birds supposed to fly in the future? Dams practically destroyed certain fish stocks. Farms have crowed out most natural animals.

Birds are actually very necessary to control the insect population. They are also pretty, and interesting to have around. Crowd out the birds and they likely will die off for lack of habitat. I think I would rather watch birds than windmills.

Then there is another related problem. Windmills everywhere could destroy the movie business. Movie producers rely on vast desolate natural areas especially to do period movies.

Wind turbines could also destroy the tourism industry. I am an avid outdoors person. I love to hike, bicycle, or kayak in natural scenery. Wind turbines could destroy this. I like to see wind turbines now and then, but to have them in your face everywhere would be annoying.

I've said my piece, now what do you think?

 

[brewnog]

I've said my piece, now what do you think?

I think there's rather a lot of hyperbole in there! Done on a large scale, it's unlikely that wind farms would be intentionally put in areas which attract tourists by being picturesque. The areas which would provide most power are generally offshore installations, where the prevailing wind conditions are not nearly as variable as on land. I don't think there's any danger of wind farms becoming so widespread that they would inhibit movie shootings, and if they got anywhere near this degree of prevalence, the impact on the movie industry would pale into insignificance compared with the amount of renewable energy we would be making use of. I'm not saying that I believe them to be a complete solution to our current energy problems (I don't), but I don't think the issues you've highlighted are really stopping the progress of wind farm installations.

In any case, I think they're beautiful, and have often stopped to stand and look at them whirring away over a sunset at sea...

 

[FredGarvin]

Did he just express concern for the movie industry? Come on...power production vs. another crappy Hollywood movie. Hmmm...

I do agree that studies on bird populations need to be conducted. Not only for the insect issue, but the impact on things such as migratory routes. There are plenty of techniques available for stopping bird impacts.

 

[beluluk]

I don't know much about the real thing... but... when i think about it..., not blocking the wind, but blocking the birds... how about a gridlines (perhaps from metal wires) sorrounding the wind turbine? (added cost of course)

If this solution to be taken, then make sure the grids make a considerable distance so the wind suction at the outside part of the grids wouldn't be so massive. And also, i know that birds love to perch/stand on a windy place. Perhaps a branch-like stick would be perfect with the grids. I imagine the birds making friends with the wind turbine... LOVELYY :)

ow yeah,... another "perhaps"..., perhaps we could make the wind turbines' blades not deadly for birds. perhaps by putting some soft, light and elastic fibers around the blades.

 

[Danger]

I suspect, beluluk, that the grid wires would be harder to see, and more damaging if hit, than the blades themselves.
As for the padding, maybe the blades could have some kind of moulded foamy leading edges, but it might be tough to find a substance that would stand up to the elements and still be soft. Also, it can't mess up the aerodynamics of the blades.

 

[beluluk]

I suspect, beluluk, that the grid wires would be harder to see, and more damaging if hit, than the blades themselves.

i don't know about that, and i couldn't try installing grid wires on those wind turbines because I'm faraway from them (about half of the Earth circular length ).

As for the padding, maybe the blades could have some kind of moulded foamy leading edges, but it might be tough to find a substance that would stand up to the elements and still be soft. Also, it can't mess up the aerodynamics of the blades.

I did and do hope some virtuous scientists would work on this. My location and my education do not permit me to help. I wish i could help more.

and yet... perhaps there would be another solution.