Abstract
The present study was commissioned by AES Geo Energy Ltd., Kaliakra Wind Power, EVN Kavarna, Degrets OOD, Disib OOD, Windex OOD, Long Man Invest OOD, Long Man Energy OOD, Zevs Bonus OOD, Vertikal-Petkov & Sie SD, Wind Park Kavarna East EOOD, Wind Park Kavarna West EOOD, and Millennium Group OOD in order to collect and summarize the information about the performance of the Integrated System for Protection of Birds (ISPB) that includes 114 wind turbines, 95 of which are within the Kaliakra SPA BG0002051 and 19 are in the areas adjacent to the protected zone. Considering the potentially adverse effects on environmental features, notably birds (T-PVS/Inf (2013) 15 https://tethys.pnnl.gov/publications/wind-farms-and-birds-updated-analy…), the ISPB was implemented in 2018. The ISPB aims to provide a systematic monitoring programme, primarily including fatalities through collision with rotating turbine blades, disturbance leading to the displacement of birds from feeding, drinking, roosting or breeding sites (effectively a form of habitat loss), and turbines presenting a barrier to flight movements, thereby preventing access to areas via those movements or increasing energy expenditure to fly around the turbine locations (Hötker et al. 2006, Madders & Whitfield 2006, Masden et al. 2009, 2010, Ferrer et al. 2012, Grünkorn et al. 2016).
Enacting the ISPB includes a combination of radar observations and meteorological data, integrated with field visual observations, which jointly used are essential for the accurate risk assessment and ensures that appropriate action is taken immediately. So far as potential adverse impacts of turbine collisions on birds, a Turbine Shutdown System (facilitated by an Early Warning System: EWS) is deployed.