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New technology aims to help the wind energy industry dramatically reduce—or even eliminate—its impacts on birds and bats. DeTect, Inc., produces a radar system that tracks birds and bats. It allows wind energy operators to shut down turbine blades ahead of feathery collisions. The company initially developed the technology for the U.S. Air Force, according to Gary Andrews, DeTect general manager. The Air Force uses DeTect equipment to track the path of birds around its bases to allow pilots to take evasive action as needed. Collisions with wind turbine blades kill birds, but when avian life collides with aircraft it can cause planes to crash. The growth of wind energy—and the impact of turbines on birds and bats—is creating yet another opportunity for DeTect’s technology. Its system tracks the height, direction, and speed of birds and bats as far as six to eight miles from wind projects, plus provides information about visibility that can be crucial in the ability of birds to see turbines. The information is displayed on a screen in control centers used to operate wind turbines. Currently, the company has two installations along the Texas Gulf Coast near Corpus Christi. They track migratory birds at wind projects operated by Pattern Energy and Iberdrola, said Andrews. Thousands of migratory birds regularly pass through the area and could be killed by the wind turbines, he explained. To get a handle on the potential impact, before the companies installed their projects they used the DeTect system to study the patterns of migratory birds to predict how often and when they would need to shut down turbines to prevent collisions. Andrews said the companies found they would need to curtail operations an average of 42 hours a year, based on the data collected. The companies factored these curtailment hours into their economic analyses and power sales agreements, according to Andrews. Since opening in 2009, he added, actual curtailment has averaged 36 hours a year. Once wind facilities are up and running, DeTect’s system displays information to project operators on screens that tells them when they need to shut down turbines. When the radar picks up clear skies, operators see a green bar indicating bird interference is unlikely. When birds or bats move into an area on a trajectory that could result in collision, the bar changes to yellow. When collisions are imminent, the bar changes to red—or as Andrews likes to say to “situation red.” Then operators immediately shut down turbines until the birds or bats have passed. DeTect is busy installing its system at a wind project in Spain and has sold two systems to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to study the potential impact of a proposed wind project in the Great Lakes area. They cost between $500,000 and $1 million. A Fish & Wildlife Service official voiced hope that such technologies could minimize wind power impacts on birds and bats as it potentially grows tenfold in the decade ahead. The DeTect system comes on a trailer that can be moved right into place. The company also is perfecting a system that tracks insects. By studying the patterns of insects around wind projects—including whether they typically fly below or at the level of turbine blade sweep—DeTect hopes to be able to better predict the flight paths of bats, which follow bugs.

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