A collaboration between International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and German bank KFW, along with technical advisory consultancies Natural Power and Western EcoSystems Technology (WEST), has launched a good practice handbook on post-construction bird and bat fatality monitoring (PCFM) for onshore wind energy facilities (WEFs) in emerging market countries and its decision support tool (DST).
The idea for the handbook began when the Energy Task Force identified that PCFM for onshore winds was urgently required to preserve the diversity of the ecosystems around onshore wind developments, especially in emerging markets, and that a standardised approach was needed to help developers and operators in those markets. This resource is designed for industry, governments, and conservation groups and provides practical guidance on the design and implementation of PCFM methodology at wind farms that aligns with good international industry practice. It also helps promote the global standardisation in methodologies for monitoring bird and bat fatalities so that fatality rates can be better compared across sites, landscapes, countries, and regions. Although the handbook is principally designed to account for collision risks, the methods were also developed to assess impacts of electrocution on birds and bats at associated power lines.
