Project name: Monitoring programs for wind farm Lukovac, Cista Provo Municipality
Client: Vjetroelektrana Lukovac Ltd.
Period: 04/2018 – 06/2020
Location: Croatia
The Bat and Ornithofauna monitoring programs for wind farm Lukovac were conducted from April 2018 to April 2020 in accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessment Decision of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Physical Planning and Construction on Acceptability of the project to the environment, adopted in 2010.
The following activities were performed as part of bat monitoring:
- literature analysis
- periodic bat detector monitoring on transect routes
- monitoring of bat mortality
- searcher efficiency and carcass persosstence trials
- visual bat survey with thermal cameras
- monitoring of bat populations in the Jamina pit (counting and bat detector monitoring)
- preparation of Mission reports
- processing and analysis of results: sonogram analysis, GIS analysis of bat carcasses, statistical analysis of bat mortality, analysis of thermal video footage
- impact assessment on bats for WF Lukovac
- analysis of cumulative impacts with WF Katuni
- communication and consultations with the Client
- proposal of mitigation measures for bats
- preparation of Annual and Final reports.
Impact of the wind farm on bats was monitored by determining bat activity around wind turbines using walked bat detector surveys along transect routes, searching for bat carcasses at wind turbine bases to determine casualties and monitoring bat populations in Jamina pit on Biokovo mountain, 14 km away from the WF location, a known roosting site for bats. In the summer months of the second monitoring year, visual observation of bats was also conducted.
Sonograms from the bat sounds recording were analyzed in the BatExplorer software with help of literature. The bat carcasses were examined and identified, and their position in relation to the wind turbines was analyzed in GIS. The number of bat carcasses was corrected with carcass persistence, searcher efficiency, proportion of searched area and carcass distance from wind turbines using R statistical software and GIS. The direction of bat flight around selected wind turbines was analyzed using thermal video footage.
Based on the analysis of the results and comparison with the monitoring results at WF Katuni, the impact of WF Lukovac on bats was assessed and mitigation measures were proposed. The monitoring methodology, results, analyzes and recommendations were presented in the Annual report for 2018 and the Final report.
The following activities were performed as part of ornithofauna monitoring:
- literature analysis
- monitoring of local nesting bird community, migrant and wintering
- populations of birds and bird activity using vantage points watch and linear transects
- monitoring of bird mortality
- searcher efficiency and carcass persistence trials
- preparation of Mission reports
- processing and analysis of results: bird movement analysis, GIS analysis of bird carcasses, statistical analysis of bird mortality
- impact assessment on birds for WF Lukovac
- analysis of cumulative impacts with WF Katuni
- communication and consultations with the Client
- preparation of Annual and Final reports.
The monitoring consisted of monitoring of local nesting bird community, migrant and wintering populations of birds and bird activity (using vantage points watch, linear transects for daily active birds and nocturnal birds), as well as searching for dead/injured birds around wind turbines.
The presence and number of species and directions of their movement in relation to WF Lukovac were analyzed. The bird carcasses were examined and identified, and their position in relation to the wind turbines was analyzed in GIS. The number of bird carcasses was corrected with carcass persistence, searcher efficiency and proportion of searched using R statistical software and GIS.
Based on the analysis of the results and comparison with the monitoring results at WF Katuni, the impact of WF Lukovac on ornithofauna was assessed. The monitoring methodology, results and analyzes were presented in the Annual report for 2018 and the Final report.
