A new study revealed an interesting correlation between common habitats for bats and ideal locations for wind turbines, per an article from Renewable Energy Magazine.
According to the findings, free-tailed bats prefer to live in areas that are prime spots for setting up wind turbines. A team of international scientists and the U.S. Geological Survey found that more than 33,000 existing wind turbines in the southwestern U.S. are highly suitable summer and fall habitats for Mexican free-tailed bats.
On top of this correlation, the researchers discovered that preferred spots for future wind turbine developments are also in the bats' habitats. According to Renewable Energy Magazine, Mexican free-tailed bats are one of the most frequently killed species by wind turbines in the southwestern U.S.
Published in Nature Scientific Reports, the study reviewed the bats' habitat preferences to map their location in each season with the goal of identifying ideal areas for Mexican free-tailed bats to live.
The researchers then mapped out places in the U.S. with wind turbines and regions with plans for wind turbine development to eventually create a combined map that revealed the correlation between the bat habitats and the wind turbines.
After analyzing the different bat habitats across the southwestern U.S. and their proximity to the wind turbines, the researchers highlighted different strategies for wind turbine companies to reduce bat fatalities.
One strategy the researchers noted was turning off wind turbines during low wind speeds. According to the study, this may be more effective in preventing bat fatalities than building turbines in regions where bats are not found.
"Avoiding areas where impacts may occur is the very first step used to reduce impacts from any type of project. We were hopeful that we would find win-win places, and across the whole annual life cycle, we didn't find that," USGS Research Ecologist and study author Jay Diffendorfer told Renewable Energy Magazine.
"But studying the whole annual cycle gives us a more refined understanding of the space and time dynamics — the species is present some of the time and not there other times. That information can help a wind energy company make operational decisions."
While wind energy is a viable clean power solution, it's important to develop effective strategies for making renewable energy options as non-invasive as possible for the local wildlife in the area.
Thanks to the new research study, wind turbine companies can better supply clean energy to the southwestern U.S. without harming the migratory bat population.
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