Bats “don’t like wind turbines” and are steering clear of the growing number of forest-based projects in Finland, according to an academic study that flags possible damaging impacts on the creatures’ habitats.
Studies of seven forest wind farms on Finland’s west coast showed two bat species keeping up to 1km or more between themselves and the turbines, according to researchers from the Universities of Turku and Helsinki.
The team spent a summer observing bats including the Northern, Finland’s most common type, and the Myotis group of species.
“Our results showed that bat presence was impacted by the presence of wind turbines as both studied groups were found more often further away from the wind turbines,” said lead author Simon Gaultier.
“It is not yet clear if bats avoid the wind turbines themselves, or the surrounding area”, Gaultier added. “In Finland, building turbines in forests requires cutting down a number of trees and building large roads to bring turbine parts to the construction sites.
“Bats like the Myotis don’t like these kinds of changes and prefer dense forests with no open areas. This could be the explanation as why they tend to avoid wind farms.”
The team also suggest other deterrents such as noise or lights, but “regardless of the real causes, this avoidance can drive bats away from habitats that are important for their movement or feeding.
“This consequence is exacerbated when considering the cumulative effect of all wind turbines already operating or planned in Finland.”
The academics claimed that with some 7% of Finnish territory affected by current or planned wind development, more work is needed to understand the impacts on bats’ habitats and migration routes.
The study suggesting that bats actively avoid wind farms is a new slant on the relationship between the flying creatures and turbines, with most focus until now on how to avoid collisions.
Wind OEM giant Vestas in 2019 announced a deal to roll-out 'jamming kits' that interfere with bats' echolocation systems in a bid to keep them away from wind farms.
Finland has over the last few years emerged as a leading European growth market, installing a record 671MW of new wind power in 2021 that pushed its cumulative capacity to 3.3GW at the start of last year.
The Finnish onshore wind boom is being driven by factors including a buoyant market for green power deals from data centres, a desire to secure energy independence from Russia and a push to meet ambitious national decarbonisation goals.
Finland is now also paving the way for major offshore wind projects, with huge developments receiving scoping permits.
