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DOE OSTI · 1867251

Ultrasonic Jet Bat Deterrent System Advancement

Miller, Myron·Coppinger, Karyn·New, Leslie·Mintz, Jeff·Sullivan, Patrick·Skalski, John
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Abstract

General Electric Renewable Energy (GE) and the Department of Energy (DOE) worked to develop a project with an objective to increase confidence in acoustic ultrasonic bat deterrent technologies in wind turbines, by mitigating stakeholder investment risks that currently hinder the adoption of deterrent technologies. Many wind turbine sites utilize a bat conservation plan that curtail wind turbines and stop energy production. Curtailment is a known bat impact mitigation solution that has an history of environmental regulatory acceptance. To help support a solution that allows for simultaneous bat conservation and energy production with regulatory acceptance of acoustic bat deterrents, GE proposed a study to compare four treatments: control (no curtailment or deterrent), deterrent only, deterrent plus curtailment, and curtailment only. The concept was to provide a direct comparison of bat deterrent and curtailment effectiveness within the same wind farm and bat migration season. This comparison was intended to advocate for the adoption of bat deterrents with a large-scale field study by addressing customer concerns on regulatory acceptance of deterrents. The study was to be hosted at a forested habitat site during a bat migration season, by Stony Creek Energy, LLC (SCE), the owner of the Orangeville Wind Farm (OWF) in the state of New York. Included was a behavioral study plan with two turbines to monitor bat flight paths with thermal imaging cameras.

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Miller, Myron, Coppinger, Karyn, New, Leslie, Mintz, Jeff, Sullivan, Patrick, Skalski, John. 2022-03-02. Ultrasonic Jet Bat Deterrent System Advancement. https://doi.org/10.2172/1867251

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