Establishing Baseline Data on Bat Activity in The Offshore Environment: Developing Tools and Models to Quantify Risk of Offshore Wind Energy Development

PI: Christian Newman, Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI)
Start Year: 2022 | Duration: 4.25 years
Partners: DOE, BOEM, EPRI, Bat Conservation International, Stantec, USGS, Woods Hole Group

Project Abstract:

The overall goal of the project is to improve the understanding of the risk that offshore wind development may pose to bats along the West Coast of the United States. The goal will be achieved with the following objectives: 1. Adapt and validate bat acoustic technology for stationary and mobile acoustic sampling of bats in the offshore environment; 2. Establish a 2-year baseline dataset of offshore bat activity that can be used to document the timing and conditions of bat activity in the offshore environment; 3. Document the spatial distribution of bat activity along the pacific coast of the continental United States; 4. Define the environmental envelope of risk to bats and measure seasonal spatial variation in frequency of such conditions offshore; and 5. Document stopover behavior of bats visiting islands during the peak migratory period to better inform use of islands and offshore habitats and characterize associated risk of impacts at offshore wind energy facilities. The research approach will help define the risk that offshore wind energy poses to bat populations along the Oregon and California coasts. The project will rely primarily on acoustic bat activity to define the environmental conditions under which most bat activity occurs. Acoustic monitoring will include a combination of fixed (e.g., islands, weather buoys, coastal locations) and mobile, vessel-based monitoring sites. The approach will also describe the weather conditions that are associated with high offshore bat activity. Using state of the art weather modeling, we will then identify the frequency that conditions conducive to bat activity occur across the entire spatial domain (within 50 km of Oregon & California coastlines). This project will be the first project to measure the seasonal, spatial, and temporal patterns in risk to bats from offshore wind energy development along the Oregon and California coasts. It will generate baseline information on seasonal patterns and species composition in bat activity that can be used by wind industry and bat stakeholders to assess the feasibility and potential costs of fatality reduction measures to avoid or minimize impacts to vulnerable bats from offshore wind energy development.