Using Nanotags to Measure Shorebird and Bat Responses to Offshore Wind Turbines

The first active offshore wind energy facility in the United States was the Block Island Wind Farm (BIWF), a five 6-MW turbine operation in Rhode Island state waters. We evaluated automated radio telemetry technology and modeling methods to assess bird movements of three focal species, Common Terns, Roseate Terns, and Piping Plovers, in the vicinity of BIWF. Our intention at the outset of this project was to design a network of three stations to bi-angulate or tri-angulate the flight pathways of birds flying near the BIWF. Unfortunately, due to technical issues, the station on BIWF rarely worked, so we had to rely on simultaneous detections from the two stations on Block Island to model movements. The two automated towers located on the southern shore of Block Island were effective at detecting the three focal species we targeted for this investigation. We suggest that automated radio telemetry receivers are placed on multiple turbines and constructed in a configuration to maximize the probability of estimating exposure risk by tracking the meso-scale movements via triangulation. We also recommend that omnidirectional antennas should be avoided on offshore turbines due to low detection rates.

USD: $299,842

2017-09-19 → 2020-01-22