In an attempt to reduce the environmental impact of wind turbines on wildlife, researchers from the Loughborough University in the UK have demonstrated that selecting a color different than grey or white affect the way these constructions affect insects.
It wouldn’t be such a problem if it only affected insects, but insects draw bats, which are killed in the chase by the huge white turbine blades.
“It had been speculated that insects may be attracted to turbine structures for some reason and this then could attract insectivorous species, such as birds and bats, to forage in the vicinity,” said PhD student Chloe Long.
They studied how insects are lured by specific colors on a wind turbine’s blade and found out that
a good example would be painting the whole thing in purple.
“Our major conclusion from this work is that turbine paint colour could be having a significant impact on the attraction of insect species to the structure, both during the day and at night,” Miss Long told the BBC.
Not all wind turbines should be then painted in purple, they say, but some other color that is also aesthetically-pleasing, but they emphasized that the colors should definitely be suffering a change.
