• Recently, bat mortality has exceeded that of birds at the foot of wind turbine masts.

  • The direction of the environment admitted that wind farms, in the Somme and in the Aisne, presented an excessive mortality of bats.

  • The Picardie Nature association denounces official data which is slow to come up.

When bats are carried “pale”.

“Concerning the mortality of bats, there are difficulties on three or four wind farms, installed in the Somme and in the Aisne,” recognizes the direction of the environment (Dreal) of Hauts-de-France.

A situation a priori under control which symbolizes, nevertheless, a much more alarming risk, according to the Picardie Nature association.

The Hauts-de-France region ranks first nationally in terms of the number of wind turbine masts installed, even if the State services refuse around a third of the requests, among other things, for reasons of biodiversity protection.

Thus, before any implementation of a park, an impact study must in particular verify the absence of danger for the activity of bats.

Absent clamping system

“Once the wind turbines are installed, the park operator must ensure regular monitoring, identifying potential corpses, underlines Dreal.

In the event of significant mortality, the operator must propose appropriate measures or, failing that, he will be imposed, by prefectural decree, these same measures, generally consisting of a partial shutdown of the machines.

»

A clamping system, thanks to radars, thus makes it possible to stop the operation of the wind turbines according to the activity detected by bats, but also by birds.

However, the parks in question are not equipped with this restriction.

“No particular problem had been detected when the file was submitted”, underlines the administration which considers “not to have enough perspective on the difficulties encountered to be able to answer on the good adequacy between the measures taken and the mortality of the bats. mouse ".

Clearly, for now, it's the status quo.

“We are having trouble getting some data”

However, recently, the mortality of these mammals has exceeded that of the birds at the foot of the masts.

With worrying findings in France.

“In ten years, a race called common noctule has lost around 80% of its population, according to a study by the Natural History Museum.

There is a real stake in the survival of this species”, assures Lucie Dutour, bat specialist at Picardie Nature.

How did we get here ?

“Wind turbine developers have an obligation to follow up on mortality, but the feedback is sluggish, emphasizes Lucie Dutour.

We're having trouble getting that data.

Admittedly, the restriction causes a shortfall, but it takes real awareness on the part of manufacturers.

»

For the association, it is difficult to act concretely, because there is no legal lever.

So ?

“No problem arises in winter,” she explains.

Bats are active from spring to fall, but only at night, with key migration periods for some species.

And when it's very windy, they don't fly.

»

A new threat to bats

On the side of the French Society for the Study and Protection of Mammals (SFEPM), we are very concerned about a new threat: wind turbines with very low ground clearance.

These machines have gigantic blades that rotate between 20 and 30 m from the ground, sometimes only approaching 10 m, with speeds of rotation at the tip of the blade that exceed 280 km/h.

“It is to be expected that even bats that fly at ground level will be affected, worries the SFEPM, in a technical note dating from December 2020. Certain species, largely spared hitherto by collisions, will also be


part of the procession of victims of wind power.

It is all the more heartbreaking that for three decades, the efforts made during the various national bat action plans had finally made it possible to see the numbers of these species rising again.

»

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Planet

Where and how to install wind turbines to spare bats?

Lethal Blade Movement

According to Dreal, "the mortality of bats is not linked to the shock on the blades or the masts, but to the concussions resulting from the violent displacements of air created by the movement of the blades".

Some species are more susceptible than others.

  • Picardy

  • Wind turbine

  • Lille

  • Bat

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