Are Wind Turbines Bird-Killers?

It seems that a few early wind turbine projects generated more than energy—they created a reputation for killing birds. While modern wind turbines are far safer than earlier attempts to harness wind energy, the reputation does have some merit: Birds are, on occasion, killed when they fly into wind turbines. But here’s some news that might surprise you: Sources as wide-ranging as global warming, utility lines, cars, and even housecats pose far greater threats to birds than wind turbines!

On average, there are 1.83 avian fatalities per wind turbine per year, amounting to approximately 6,400 bird fatalities in 2001 in the United States (excluding California, where data was not collected), according to the National Wind Coordinating Committee. By comparison, the study found that collisions with cars and trucks cause 60 to 80 million avian deaths each year in the US. Even worse? Utility lines, otherwise known as those electrical lines that distribute electricity to your home, cause 130 to 174 million avian deaths each year. And here’s the kicker: Free roaming housecats cause an estimated 39 million avian deaths each year in Wisconsin alone, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources! So odds are your fluffy, neighborhood-exploring Whiskers is causing more damage to bird populations than a wind turbine.

It’s critical to place wind turbines within the larger context of all current energy sources and to note that conventional energy generators such as coal-burning power plants, the single greatest greenhouse-gas emitter in the United States, contribute significantly to the global warming crisis—a phenomenon that poses a vastly larger threat to bird populations and other animals than wind turbines.

It’s perhaps most telling that even the National Audubon Society, a nonprofit dedicated to sustaining bird populations, supports wind power as an alternative energy source. John Flicker, the National Audubon Society’s President, notes on the organization’s website that it’s important to carefully consider the locations of wind turbines so as to not upset bird migratory patterns and habitats. Still, Flicker continues, “On balance, Audubon strongly supports wind power as a clean alternative energy source that reduces the threat of global warming.” And that’s something we all, feathered friends included, should get behind.