The number of wind power plants installed in Spain has increased dramatically, and many are located in important wildlife
areas. This paper explores the geographical overlap of wind power plants with the ranges of flying vertebrate species. The
list of animals studied includes bats, soaring birds, and other birds that may be killed by turbines. Results show that the
10 × 10 km UTM squares occupied by wind power plants fell within the range of more bat and bird species than squares free
of these infrastructures. For species included in the Spanish Red List, there were more wind power plants than expected inside
the range of two raptors (
Neophron
percnopterus and
Circus
pygargus) and less than expected in six species (
Ciconia
nigra,
Aquila
adalberti, Hieraetus
fasciatus
Myotis
capaccinii,
Rhinolophus
mehelyi and
Myotis
myotis). The rest of endangered species (15) had a range occupation similar to that predicted by random sampling, a result that
reflects a poor strategy to prevent the overlap. These patterns may be explained by the small amount of overlap of the range
of many of these animals with the windiest areas in Spain, where wind power plants are concentrated today. However, this situation
is changing rapidly with the densification and expansion of wind power plants promoted under the Spanish Plan of Renewable
Energies. This may produce the occupation of many areas important to bird and bat conservation, and therefore preventive measures
should be implemented to protect these species and their habitats.
Keywords Bats - Birds - Conservation - Geographical overlap - Spain - Wind power plants