Establishing electricity generation facilities, including renewable-energy facilities, necessitates careful planning to mitigate the risk to birds, other wildlife, the natural ecosystems and area-specific habitats, says bird conservation organisation Birdlife South Africa (SA).

Birdlife SA will exhibit at the Africa Energy Indaba, which will take place from February 17 to 18 at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Johannesburg.

Large wind farms are especially likely to damage several aspects of a natural environment, although coal-fired power stations and solar farms pose their own unique risks and challenges.

Wind turbines on wind farms can affect birds in several ways, explains Birdlife SA birds and renewable-energy manager Samantha Ralston. “The most obvious and direct impact is that birds can be killed or injured if they collide with wind turbines or associated infrastructure, such as power lines.”

Birds could also be affected by the loss of – or even transformation of – the habitat in the vicinity of a wind farm. “This may result in birds being displaced by the activities associated with a wind farm,” says Ralston, adding, however, that different types of birds are affected in different ways. Some groups of birds, including raptors, such as eagles and vultures, are particularly prone to colliding with the turbines, while displacement could have long-term implications for the conservation of a species that has limited range and specific habitat requirements.

Sufficient Progress
In terms of adequate planning when constructing new wind farms, Ralston tells Engineering News that there is always room for improvement. She concedes, however, that South Africa’s environmental- impact assessment (EIA) processes for renewable energy “have come a long way” since the first wind farms were proposed in South Africa as early as 2002, and says that early EIAs were “woefully inadequate.”

“Fortunately, there has been a marked improvement over the last three to four years. We believe that, generally, the industry wants to do the right thing, but people’s attitudes vary.”

Ralston notes that some developers and environmental consultants do try to “cut corners”, while others are prepared to go above and beyond the prescribed minimum requirements to ensure that their developments are truly sustainable. “One of the best things a developer can do is to consider birds in the early stages of project development. However, it is still a far way off before that forms part of all developers’ thinking habits.”

Obtaining a balance between the developer’s needs and the need for rigorous, scientifically defensible data – which is required to make good decisions – is an ongoing challenge, she adds.

Best Practice Guide
Birdlife SA and its partner, the Endangered Wildlife Trust, a local wildlife and environment conservation organisation, have produced an industry guideline document, titled Best Practice Guidelines for Birds and Wind Energy, which is based on international best practice.

“One of the aims of these guidelines is to set a standard for EIAs and monitoring so that wind energy producers know what is expected of them and how long monitoring and EIAs should take,” says Ralston.

She notes, however, that the next big test for future and existing wind energy producers will be to see if any changes are enacted at operational wind farms to further minimise the risk to biodiversity, should the need arise. “As a result of these guidelines, we will receive data on the actual impacts of wind energy on our birds for the first time in South Africa,” Ralston enthuses.

However, she is unsure whether developers and decision-makers would be prepared to compromise, and to what extent they would compromise, to balance the need for cost-effective “clean” energy, should the EIAs indicate significant negative impacts on birds.

Ralston further notes that there is some doubt from certain parties in the energy sector about whether the impact of wind energy on birds is worth considering.

She says one of the most popular statistics favouring wind farms is that wind turbines kill fewer birds than cats or buildings. She explains that, while the numbers are probably correct, the logic is flawed, as the mortality rates of different species of birds need to be considered.

“We know from studies elsewhere in the world that the mortality rates of birds can vary greatly between different wind farms and between different turbines at a single wind farm.

“It is also important to note that even seemingly low mortality rates can pose a severe threat to some species – particularly long-lived birds with low reproductive rates,” Ralston warns.

She says field studies by Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife staff members Sonja Kruger and Ian Rushworth suggest that just 80 turbines in the Lesotho Highlands could cause the local extinction of bearded vultures.

Hawk Eyes
Ralston notes that, while some wind farms in South Africa undergo comprehensive planning before they start operating, others – particularly those approved before international best practice guidelines were introduced – have followed best practice guidelines; however, this work is not open to public scrutiny.

“There are definitely some wind farms in the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) that we need to keep a close eye on, as some were approved before the standards of EIAs were brought in line with international best practice,” she says, highlighting the likelihood that these proposed wind farms are in a sensitive location.

“Location is key to reducing conflict between birds and wind energy,” states Ralston.

She further suggests that the REIPPPP does not consider birds at all, other than ensuring that environmental authorisation is in place. “One of the challenges with this approach is that so many projects receive environmental approval, yet only a few get awarded preferred bidder status. This means that assessing and addressing cumulative impacts remain a challenge, especially when preferred bidders are in close geographic proximity to each other.”

Greater Consultation
Birdlife SA welcomes increased consultation during the planning and feasibility phases of projects, Ralston says. “By engaging early in the process with project planners, we ensure that we all understand what issues to expect and how to address them. “We have a fantastic relationship with some developers – some even consult with us during planning and feasibility phases.”

She notes that Birdlife SA supports renewable energy and is committed to working constructively with industry to find solutions.

The challenge of balancing power production and wildlife needs to be tackled in an open and transparent manner, and renewable-energy industry stakeholders must commit to building a collective understanding of their impacts and how they can be mitigated through objective, structured and scientific monitoring, Ralston adds.

“Further, we should strive for continual improvement and use the data generated from monitoring to make better decisions in the future. Industry must be prepared to be flexible and adopt an adaptive management approach, as things do not always happen as expected.”

She suggests that different models for power generation be investigated, such as a massive roll-out of small-scale power generation, in close proximity to the end-user. This would include rooftop solar panels on homes, which, besides powering homes and reducing State-owned power utility Eskom’s electricity consumption, could also feed power into the national grid.

“This would be much more ecofriendly than industrial-scale power generation and I do not think that we are doing enough in that regard,” concludes Ralston.