Researchers at UMass-Amherst are working to develop a device to help protect bats from wind turbine blades that could kill them.
Paul Sievert, an environmental conservation professor and leader of the project, said the devices would produce a pulsing ultrasonic whistle, mimicking sound from a bat’s larynx that’s known to deter other bats from coming into an area.
“We can attach them to the blades of a wind turbine,” Sievert said. “And as those blades turn, the air goes through these tiny whistles emitting sounds which basically keep bats away from the spinning blades.”
Sievert said he’s hoping the devices will not only help reduce what he calls a significant number of dead bats found on wind farms, but also alleviate the regulatory hurdles for siting new wind facilities.
The two-year project is funded by grants from the federal Energy Department and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.
This report was originally published by New England Public Radio.
