Wind Power

Thoughts of wind power usually convey the image of a series of old-fashioned windmills located on the farms in the plains of Kansas or standing fast before the lance of Don Quixote, perhaps in a field of tulips. This is not the reality of wind power in the modern age. Because efficiency of wind turbines increases considerably with the size of the windmill, most wind power generation fields are composed of arrays of very large sets of dozens, or hundreds, of wind driven propellers high up in the air.
One of the problems with large arrays of wind power generators is that they try to capture as much of the air currents as possible. This can cause dangers for the aerial citizens such as birds and bats. The Audubon Society has indicated that it is their opinion that the environmental advantages of the use of wind power outweigh the dangers for birds and that other forms of power generation, such as coal fired plants, are actually much more dangerous to birds. However, it seems that bats are particularly susceptible to the tower arrays. Investigations are still in process as to why bats should be affected so much but one current theory is that the propellers cause fluctuations in the air pressure near where the bats glide – causing problems in adjusting and in navigation. Bats also have a low birth rate so deaths within a group can quickly affect the viability of a population. Most people agree that it is a problem that should be solved but also should not hinder wind power deployment.