09/07/2026
Painting one blade of a wind turbine black may help reduce bird collisions in a simple and low-cost way.
The idea is that a darker blade stands out more clearly while the rotor is spinning. This may make the moving blades easier for birds to detect and avoid.
In a 2020 study by May et al., researchers tested this idea at the Smøla wind farm in Norway. They found that turbines with one black-painted blade had a 71.9% reduction in bird fatalities compared with turbines that were not painted.
The finding was especially notable for birds of prey, which can be vulnerable around wind farms. The study was small, so researchers have been careful not to treat it as a final answer.
Even so, the result is promising because the change is straightforward. If larger studies confirm the effect across more places and bird species, painting one blade black could become a practical way to make wind energy safer for wildlife.
