The trend toward ever-more-colossal turbines is not only cutting the cost of wind energy but could also deliver another important benefit: fewer bird deaths.
Although there are numerous complex factors behind wind-farm-related bird mortality, one key feature of current collision models is the swept-area ratio: the proportion of an at-risk area that is occupied by wind turbine blades. With larger turbines, the ratio goes down, thereby reducing bird deaths.
“Not all turbines are equal,” explained Tim Norman, U.K. director and vice president for offshore at Niras, an international engineering consultancy, in an interview. “The bigger you get, the more efficient they are. So they need less swept area for the same energy generation.”
