PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Greece has the potential to be one of Europe’s strongest wind energy producers, helping it to meet its target of producing 35% of its power from renewable sources by 2020. However, the number of wind farms in Greece will need to increase significantly, and their impact on biodiversity needs to be carefully assessed prior to any construction. An analysis of the potential negative impacts will help ensure that appropriate mitigation or compensation measures are taken. Gaps in knowledge must be addressed to better inform the policy and planning frameworks of the country.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE WINDFARMS & WILDLIFE Biodiversity project aimed to fill in knowledge gaps and prepare a methodology for meeting the needs of wind farm developers while respecting conservation of EU biodiversity. Guidelines would be produced for public authorities in Greece and wind farm developers that would enable them to effectively plan, implement and regularly evaluate the performance of the measures specifically designed to safeguard biodiversity. Project actions would focus on demonstrating effective integrated approaches to post-construction mitigation of negative impacts on biodiversity (in accordance with the EU Guidance document ‘Wind energy development and Natura 2000’).
RESULTS
The LIFE WINDFARMS & WILDLIFE project demonstrated a series of cutting-edge technologies for preventing and mitigating impact of wind farm installations on biodiversity, such as collisions with wild birds and bats. It tested the suitability and effectiveness of using video surveillance, a range of radars, bat detectors and early warning systems in Greece. Early warning systems, which were installed at two wind farm sites (CRES Demonstration Wind Farm – PENA Keratea and Derveni, Thrace), were shown to be an effective way of preventing birds from colliding with wind turbines.
A key outcome of the project was the production of publicly available tools (good practice guide and decision support tool) that will aid the correct planning of windfarm development by providing information about very sensitive sites and species and good practices in mitigating impacts.
The project also opened up a channel of communication between windfarm developers and conservation scientists, supported by scientific evidence. Data showed that the loss of energy production when an early warning system is in operation is low to insignificant. The project also showed that these technologies can reduce the impacts on biodiversity, while maintaining the power output of wind farms. The average annual energy loss due to automated wind turbine stops is minimal – between 0.12% and 0.24% – and therefore, the project can be considered to have contributed to the long-term growth of the energy sector in Greece.
Furthermore, the project demonstrated that the optimum surveillance system for the Greek landscape is video surveillance coupled with observers on the ground. It also showed how renewable energy from wind can be developed in line with EU guidance, ‘Wind energy development and Natura 2000’, which emphasises the protection of biodiversity. It is the first project in Greece to address this issue, which has been a hot subject of public debate. Moreover, the project has helped improve the quality of Environmental Assessments by creating a baseline of methodologies that are considered good practice and by providing maps in the decision support tool to inform developers and authorities.
Finally, the project established contacts with companies outside Greece, such as Groupe Valeco in France and Bioinsight in Portugal, with a view to adopting the project’s approach and technologies. The video surveillance system at PENA will remain in place indefinitely and the one at the Derveni commercial wind farm was contracted to run for three years after the end of the project.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).
