When the Kawailoa Wind Project in Haleiwa negotiated its Habitat Conservation Plan in 2012, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service granted the project an incidental take permit, allowing the farm to kill 60 of the endangered Hawaiian hoary bats over a 20-year period.

By 2018, Kawailoa had killed 62 bats, thus exceeding its allowed incidental take. Likely fearing the lofty legal and financial penalties associated with violating the Endangered Species Act, the project began amending its Habitat Conservation Plan, and is now requesting a fourfold increase in its original allowed incidental take.

Kawailoa is not alone. Wind farms across the state are similarly requesting increases in their allowed incidental take of this endangered bat.

Hawaiians care about their endangered endemic species. The Hawaiian hoary bat, ‘ope‘ape‘a, is no exception. Queen Liliuokalani translated chants from the Kumulipo making reference to the “gods of the bats.” Although these bats were officially declared an endangered species in 1970, scientists still know very little about them. Substantially increasing the allowable incidental take of any of these farms sets a dangerous precedent for the future conservation of ‘ope‘ape‘a.

Kawailoa recently committed $250,000 to research the effects of wind turbines on endangered species such as ‘ope‘ape‘a. Rather than petition to kill more of these fragile populations, wind farms investing in research, such as Kawailoa, should continue to implement a variety of mitigation tactics to minimize and prevent bat fatalities.

For example, wind farms can “feather” their turbines, or temporarily shut them down, during bat migratory and pupping season, when collisions have traditionally been the highest. Studies have shown this tactic can reduce bat fatalities up to 93%, while virtually maintaining annual wind energy production and revenue. More investments for the future of wind energy include radar and strike detection, which can detect bat activity and halt turbine motion in real time, and ultrasonic acoustic devices, which can send out echolocation frequencies to deter bats from the areas surrounding wind farms.

In 2019, Kawailoa began testing these deterrent devices, and turbines with the technology saw zero bat fatalities in the first year of operation. As more information is gathered on the Hawaiian hoary bat in years to come, future wind farm development should include comprehensive pre-construction studies to avoid placing turbines directly in the migratory paths and nesting locations of the bats.

There are steps, both in the short- and long term, that wind farms can and should implement to prevent the unnecessary deaths of these bats. Requesting an increase in the allowable incidental take alone only alleviates the legal burden of the farms’ responsibility for their actions contributing to the decline of the only native land mammal of Hawaii.

Hawaii has a strong recent history of preserving and protecting native species, and the endangerment of ‘ope‘ape‘a should not be ignored for the sake of producing clean energy. Alternatively, future investment in other forms of renewable energy such as rooftop solar systems can reduce the reliance on wind energy and curb the effects on the ‘ope‘ape‘a populations.

We urge the wind farms to continue to develop and expand alternatives to coexist with Hawaii’s native bats rather than asking to increase their allowed killing of this endangered species. With mitigation measures alongside future planning and investment, renewable energy and the endangered ‘ope‘ape‘a can coexist on the Hawaiian islands.

Kioko Soneda and Marcela Todd are students at the University of Washington studying conservation science. Co-signatories include fellow UW students Christina Cameron, Cierra Harrison and Adam Torocsik.