On a windswept archipelago off Central Norway, a small and almost whimsical intervention was tested: a single blade on certain turbines was painted black, to see whether a change in what birds perceive could spare their lives. The result in Smøla suggested that a modest visual cue can carry real consequence, even as a later trial in the Netherlands found nothing comparable. Humanity keeps reaching for the quiet fix that works on the eye before it works on the machine, and this story shows how much remains uncertain about whether what works in one landscape will hold in another. The open questi
Why One Black Turbine Blade Cut Bird Deaths in Norway, and Why the Fix May Not Travel
On a windswept archipelago off Central Norway, a small and almost whimsical intervention was tested: a single blade on certain turbines was painted black, to see whether a change in what birds perceive could spare their lives. The result in Smøla suggested that a modest visual cue can carry real consequence, even as a later trial in the Netherlands found nothing comparable. Humanity keeps reaching for the quiet fix that works on the eye before it works on the machine, and this story shows how much remains uncertain about whether what works in one landscape will hold in another. The open question now moves out to sea, where a red blade may tell us whether the lesson travels.
On the Smøla archipelago off the coast of Central Norway, in August 2013, one blade on each of several wind turbines was painted black. The idea was simple: change a single visual cue and see whether fewer birds die.
Researchers from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research compared four ordinary turbines with four neighbors that carried a black blade, counting carcasses within 100 meters. Across more than a decade of data, bird deaths fell by over 70 percent, with the region's white-tailed sea eagle showing the clearest benefit. The scientists urged caution, calling the data anecdotal, but it offered real-world support for an earlier laboratory finding.
The likely reason lies in perception. Three identical blades spinning together can blur into one large disc that birds struggle to read, and a black blade helps separate them. Still, the fix has limits, since some species may not see the difference, and painting working turbines is labor-intensive.
Then the Netherlands tried similar experiments and saw no positive effect, suggesting the outcome depends on local species and population size. Now the Dutch consortium Ecowende is testing red blades on seven offshore Vestas turbines. What remains to be seen is whether red at sea will echo Smøla or repeat the Dutch silence.
On the Smøla archipelago off the coast of Central Norway, in August 2013, one blade on each of a set of wind turbines was painted black. It was a cheap-sounding idea: change a single visual cue and see whether fewer birds die.
The Smøla wind power plant has 68 turbines. Researchers from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research compared four regular turbines with four neighboring ones that had one blade painted black. They regularly counted bird carcasses found within 100 meters of the turbines. The study ran more than ten years in total, combining 7.5 years of baseline data from before any blade was painted with 3.5 years of data afterward. The researchers published their findings in 2020 in the journal Ecology and Evolution.
The result was striking. Bird deaths fell by more than 70 percent, and the effect was especially pronounced for the region's white-tailed sea eagle, a somewhat rare species. The researchers cautioned that the data were anecdotal and might not hold for other bird populations. Still, it was independent real-world confirmation of a laboratory experiment from 2003 that had pointed the same way.
The proposed explanation concerns how birds process what they see. The article borrows a term from animation, motion smearing, in which things moving too fast to follow blend into one continuous motion. Three identical blades spinning together can look like a single large disc, which makes the threat hard to notice. A black blade breaks up that pattern, so the moving blades are easier to tell apart.
The fix has limits. As Audubon reported, these are preliminary findings that will not translate equally to all species, particularly those without the visual acuity to pick up the difference. There is also practical effort involved: painting turbines that are in operation takes lifts and specialist crews able to work at height.
Then came the Netherlands. Similar experiments there did not produce positive results. The explanation offered is that the approach depends heavily on the local bird species and population size, which means a success in Norway does not guarantee one elsewhere.
Most land-based trials so far have stuck with black, but at sea a new trial is trying another color. The Dutch consortium Ecowende is fitting seven Vestas V236-15.0 MW turbines with one red blade each, 115.5 meters long. Red was chosen after weighing options against criteria including durability and heat management, as well as the plain advantage of being easier to see from a distance.
What to watch is whether red, on offshore turbines with different birds and conditions, shows the kind of effect Smøla saw, or the kind the Netherlands did not.
Quieres la nota completa?
Lee el original en Yahoo ↗