Senior Manager, Environmental Compliance and Conservation Pattern Energy Toronto, Ontario
Presentation Description: This poster will provide a case study example of the implementation of a bat management framework, including the deployment and effectiveness assessment of a smart curtailment strategy that included both a smart curtailment algorithm and NRG ultrasonic deterrents.
The Henvey Inlet Wind Energy Centre (HIWEC) is located in Ontario, Canada. HIWEC has a permit obligation to manage bat mortality at levels of less than 10 bats/turbine/year as measured by an effectiveness monitoring program. This project also has permit obligations to implement a smart curtailment strategy to minimize mortality of species at risk (i.e. myotis) bats.
HIWEC developed a smart curtailment algorithm for the purpose of minimizing potential interactions with bat species at risk. The smart curtailment algorithm incorporated deterrents as a part of the decision tree strategy. Mortality results were measured weekly against a management decision tool (a standardized fatality curve created based on the express goal of maintaining mortality under the 10 bat/turbine/year threshold). When the mortality rates exceeded the curve for that point in time, the curtailment algorithm was added to deterrent operation. The annual monitoring results were used to measure the effectiveness of this overall minimization strategy against the mortality threshold management requirements.
Three years of monitoring demonstrated that the mitigation strategy was effective at managing bat mortality at less than the required 10 bats/turbine/year; results were between 4-6.6 bats/turbine/year). Comparison of monitoring results for the three years of implementation against a previous year, indicated that mortality of hoary and silver-haired bats was reduced more than 50%.
