Natural Power’s bat curtailment technology EchoSense has been approved by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as an alternative to blanket curtailment in a finalised Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) in Region 3 (Midwest).
This paves the way for broader adoption of EchoSense as a smart curtailment solution that complies with USFWS requirements and advances the clean energy transition by maximising the productivity of wind assets, the company said.
EchoSense monitors for bat activity at wind projects and only curtails when bats are present, providing an alternative to blanket curtailment that has returned 41-56% of lost energy while maintaining equivalent conservation benefits.
The technology is currently operating on multiple wind projects with US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) approval under Technical Assistance Letters.
Kevin Denman, head of environmental technology at Natural Power, said: “The wind industry has long been seeking an environmentally responsible solution that effectively minimises the impacts of wind energy on bats.
“We are proud to have attained USFWS acceptance of EchoSense as an alternative to blanket curtailment.”
The EchoSense system is highly customizable, according to Natural Power.
It integrates with project SCADA and combines meteorological data and bat acoustic data to provide detailed information about bat activity at projects, allowing informed and refined curtailment, it said.