Ultrasonic noise emissions from wind turbines: Potential effects on bat species

Abstract

The impact that wind turbines have on the environment, particularly with respect to wildlife such as bat species, has generated increasing concern over the last decade. Although the harnessing of wind power is becoming much more widespread as a clean, renewable energy resource, the increasing global turbine mortality rates for bats are thought to be significantly detrimental to susceptible species. Much research is still needed to fully understand the ways in which turbines affect bats, since they rely on echolocation and audible cues to hunt and navigate, therefore having a unique acoustic perspective of objects in their vicinity. Here we present an overview of what is currently known regarding ultrasonic emissions from operational wind turbine structures, including noise generated from the gearing mechanism, rotor, or through blade defects, and how such noise may be perceptible to some bat species in the local turbine habitat.