Consider this myth BUSTED. | Energy Central – GWC Mag

“Wind turbines kill millions of birds every year and need to be stopped.”

Let’s unpack that.

Wind turbines DO kill millions of birds every year. Current bird deaths are estimated as 1.17 million per year in the US alone.

Does that sound like a lot of birds? I think it is.

But it’s way less than deaths from other hazards:
➡️ Automobiles: 60-80 million
➡️ Buildings: 100 million
➡️ Cats: 356 million to 1 BILLION

“But we are installing more and more wind turbines, so the death rate will increase.”

Yes it will. Taking the US EAI predictions for how much #windpower will increase out to 2050, bird deaths from wind turbines might be 2.22 million in 2050. Still negligible compared to the other hazards.

There are nuances here. It may be certain types of birds that are disproportionately susceptible to collide with a wind turbine blade, such as birds of prey.

On the flip side, these estimates don’t factor in mitigation techniques such as painting one blade black, which has been shown to reduce collisions by 70%.

And why are we installing wind turbines? The effects of climate change would be far worse for bird populations.

Consider this myth BUSTED.