Draft National Wind Farm Development Guidelines - July 2010

• Due to the relatively long life of a wind farm, environmental changes may occur over
time so that utilisation of the site by various bird or bat species alters in ways that were
not able to be forecast prior to commissioning of the facility.
Regardless of the level of any impact that actually occurs, strategies should always have
the goal of further reducing negative effects on key birds or bats. Such ‘active’ adaptive
management are likely to be required if impacts exceed quantified limits as determined
by population modelling for key species undertaken prior to commissioning of the wind
farm. Various management strategies may be applicable for different sites and species
(see also Assessment of any reduction or mitigation of impacts that can be achieved,
page 128
Some adaptive management measures implemented to further reduce impacts at
operational wind farms in Australia have included:
• Land management practices aimed at reducing flights of key taxa within the area
occupied by turbines (e.g. reducing the attraction for large raptors by removal of
stock carcasses; after-births and improved control of pest prey species like rabbits;
provision of ‘diversion’ food sources away from turbines, etc.).
• Turbine shut-down protocols for situations of highest risk (e.g. in response to wind
speed and/or direction; at particular seasons; in response to particular bird
behaviours).
Such management measures are clearly not ideal and may be costly to an operating
facility. It is stressed that the best means to avoid such measures is pre-construction
planning and design aimed at minimising potential impacts on birds and bats.
Further technological developments may offer new methods to reduce or mitigate
impacts. Any mitigation strategies should be based upon the best knowledge available. At
their outset all mitigation strategies should be treated as test plans and should have a
study design clearly aimed at determining their efficacy.
This approach will facilitate improved knowledge and increase in the number of mitigation
and impact reduction strategies available to the wind energy sector.
‘Off-set’ mitigation may be an acceptable way to compensate for bird or bat deaths due
to the wind farm. This approach will include actions to improve the status of the taxon in
question and may be applied at locations not directly associated with the wind farm. The
value of actions of this kind may not be directly measurable against effects of the wind
farm, but in some instances have capacity to achieve effective conservation outcomes.
Examples (only) of such measures include:
• Establishment with landowners of covenants and other protective measures for nest
sites.
• Implementation of feral predator control.
• Habitat protection and management, such as improved water management for
wetlands of particular value to birds.
• Programs for removal of road-killed wildlife to reduce the incidence road traffic
collisions with scavenging raptors.
D.4.6 Decommissioning
Assessment of possible impacts on key bird & bat species of decommissioning and of
re-powering, if applicable
Decommissioning of a wind farm, is not usually likely to entail impacts on key birds or bats
and it is expected that rehabilitation will take account of the needs of this fauna especially
in restoration of any lost or modified habitats. If the wind farm is proposed to be repowered
after the life of turbines and other infrastructure, then an evaluation of the renewed facility
should be informed by the experience of the original facility and a new assessment is likely
to be required.
Draft National Wind Farm Development Guidelines – 2 July 2010 Page 133