A Black & White Answer

Bird fatalities at wind farms

One of the biggest environmental challenges associated with generating power from wind is that birds, often raptors, are killed if they collide with the rapidly spinning wind turbine blades. Beyond locating turbines to avoid core habitat and flight paths of vulnerable species, there are few proven and cost-effective options to minimise the risk of collisions.

One potential solution, proposed in 2003 by cognitive scientist William Hodos of the University of Maryland, is to increase the visibility of the wind turbines to birds and reduce ‘motion smear’ – the blurring that occurs when an object moves across the retina at speed. To test this theory, Hodos conducted laboratory experiments on American Kestrels Falco sparverius, with promising results. The report suggested that painting one turbine blade black (and leaving the other two blades white) should be tested further.