WIND POWER MANAGEMENT:RISK ANALYSIS FOR WIND POWER PROJECTS IN NORTH SWEDISH WHITE-TAILED SEA EAGLE HABITATS

Abstract: By investigating the scope of future wind turbine projects in north Swedish coastal regions and Lapland inland, identification of especially sensitive areas and the effect of wind farm location for the white- tailed sea eagles (WSE) Haliaeetus albicilla at these sites were evaluated. Since the 1980s the WSE the population growth has been stable and intensified in the last two decades, the upgoing trend is evident especially at coastal areas of the Bothnian Sea and Lapland inland, these regions are also considered suitable for wind farm projects. The scope of this analysis consists of an investigation of the density-dependent effect and interference regarding WSE population for each concerned wind farm by using an option with 4 MW wind turbines and a 6 MW alternative. The purpose with this comparison was to identify where wind turbines impact is most critical for WSEs and to which extent wind farms affected land area usage as well as the carrying capacity levels.One of the key findings was in Norrbotten where the 6 MW wind turbines reduced land area usage by 37,59%. In Västerbotten the highest concentration of WSEs was found and where the interference was most severe, in one of the wind farms three WSEs were observed inside the WF area which was the highest number noticed for this category in the study.Based on the low occurrence of WSEs and the accessible land area in the north-east part of Sweden (Pajala), it was considered the least critical area in terms of risk mitigation for WSE interference. A similar scenario was noticed in the southern part of Gävleborg, however in this case it was mainly a slowdown of population growth related to issues with habitat preference that enabled further possibilities for wind power investments.