This year, Ecosoul researchers have launched AI-assisted smart bat monitoring, recording bat sounds and allowing artificial intelligence to help researchers identify specific bat species by their specific characteristics. This solution aims to protect bats in the vicinity of wind farms without causing unnecessary disruption to wind turbine operations.
Ecosoul bat expert Klinta Kupče
The role of flying mammals in ecosystems
There are 16 species of bats in Latvia, eight of which hibernate in the area of Latvia, usually in cellars and bunkers. The remaining bat species migrate in autumn to the warmer south and west of Europe. Bats are highly adapted to navigate in the dark using echolocation, which allows them to successfully avoid obstacles and find food - a variety of insects. These sound signals produced by bats are at such a high frequency that the human ear cannot hear them.
Bats play an important role in the ecosystem by helping to regulate insect populations, which in turn reduces the spread of pests. Bat populations grow slowly, with only one or two young born per year, making the species particularly vulnerable. Bats are exposed to a variety of threats, some of them living close to human settlements and others in old-growth forests. Bat conservation is also particularly important at European scale, as the actions of other countries can have a significant impact on the number of migratory species in Latvia.
Under one sun and wind
Green energy is essential for preserving natural assets, but its development also brings new challenges. The rapid increase in the number of wind farms is putting bats at serious risk, as turbine rotors can cause injury or even death to bats that fly too close to them. In addition, turbines tend to attract bats because their structures are likely to remind the animals of large trees, which appear to be suitable for shelter. In addition, insects are often found near turbines, which serve as a food source for bats.
To reduce this impact, turbines are sometimes shut down when increased bat activity is forecast, especially on summer nights at low wind speeds. However, this approach is not ideal as bats are not always actually in the vicinity of the turbines at these times, leading to unnecessary energy losses.
Future wind farms revolution
One approach to studying bats is to record and analyse their calls, by recording bat sounds on specialised receivers and identifying species by their specific characteristics. This year, Ecosoul researchers have developed this method and started testing tools using artificial intelligence to develop an automated bat monitoring tool that can inform wind turbine operators online about bat activity in real time.
In practice, these smart monitoring systems still face challenges - some species have similar calls that change depending on the environment and bat activity, and sound recordings are often affected by ambient noise such as mechanical noise, precipitation and other natural sound sources, so processing sounds without human involvement is not yet possible.
Ecosoul's smart bat monitoring systems will open up new opportunities for effective bat conservation in wind farms. These systems will be able to automatically detect the presence of bats near turbines and adjust turbine operation only when bats are actually in the vicinity. This will help to significantly reduce the number of bat fatalities and optimise energy production by effectively combining renewable energy generation with nature conservation.
Book an appointment with Ecosoul's bat expert Klinta Kupče at klinta@ecosoul.bio to find out about the possibilities of implementing smart bat monitoring systems in wind farms!
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