Bats Conservation planning Natural resource development

WCS Canada comment: BC Energy Regulator Renewables Regulatory Framework

Lausen, C. & Olson, C.

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Our comments to the BC Energy Regulator outline the risks to bats from wind energy and provide recommendations to strengthen regulations to prevent bat fatalities and protect biodiversity.

Key points

BC Energy Regulator needs to mandate the following:

• Pre-construction bat assessments: Require standardized, expert-led surveys well beyond turbine sites to identify nearby bat habitats and migration routes early in the planning process, avoiding high-risk siting decisions.
• Curtailment from the start of operations: From the beginning of project operations turbines must implement algorithms for turbine shutdowns during high-risk conditions, aiming for a zero-bat-fatality target.
• Real-time smart curtailment technology: Require the use of ultrasonic bat detectors to enable real-time turbine shutdowns when bats are detected, minimizing mortality while maintaining energy output.
• Ongoing and adaptive monitoring: Establish and require distinct assessment, monitoring, and mitigation requirements for bats (separately from birds due to bat’s unique behaviors, reproductive rates, and vulnerabilities).
• Standardized monitoring and publicly accessible data: Develop/adopt monitoring protocols and require public reporting of all bat-related data to facilitate meta-analyses. Establish a centralized data repository to improve transparency, oversight, and cumulative impact understanding.

Recommended citation

Lausen, C. & Olson, C. (2025). WCS Canada comment: BC Energy Regulator Renewables Regulatory Framework. Wildlife Conservation Society Canada [WCS Canada]. https://wcscanada.org/resources/wcs-canada-comment-bc-energy-regulator-renewables-regulatory-framework/