Wind Power May Become More Animal Friendly.

I love renewable energy, but I also love animals.  One of the best sources of renewable energy is the wind but because of the high number of birds, bats, and insects that are killed every year by wind farms, I cannot support this as a viable alternative.  Fortunately, radar technologies are improving that could help save thousands of lives a year and put wind energy back on the good-side of many conservationists and vegans.

It’s reported that over 7,000 birds (and even more bats and insects) are killed by wind farms every year in the United States. The Gaurdian UK wrote about a pioneering wind farm in Texas which:

“uses radar systems originally developed for Nasa and the US Air Force to detect approaching birds from as far as four miles away, analyze weather conditions, and then determine in real time whether they are in danger of flying into the rotating blades.  If they are, the turbines are programmed to shut down, restarting once the birds are safely on their way.”

Bad weather causes birds to fly lower than they normally would putting them at greater risk of being killed by the turbines blades.  Ordinarily the birds would be flying a thousand feet above the wind farm, well out of harms way.

Along with using radar equipped turbines, legislation should be passed that would prohibit the construction of wind farms on or near bird migration routes to make wind energy less harmful. If these advances are made, wind energy may look a whole lot more sustainable.