Bethany Preservation Group - Wildlife Impact

Pressure, not blades the primary cause of bat fatalities near turbines

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:22:02 -0400

A recent study, summarized in Scientific American starts to shed light on why it is that bat fatalities are so high around wind turbines (and have been growing exponentially with the size of the turbines): air pressure. In doing autopsies on dead bats found near turbines, scientists learned that the bats are dying because their lungs are unable to handle the air pressure changes around turbines. This should lead to some interesting discussions about what to do, as previous assumptions about bats being killed by blades led to much different potential solutions.

US Fish and WIldlife Service Denys DEIS for Clayton & Orleans Townships

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 15:25:08 -0400

July 13, 2007, The Town of Clayton Planning Board received an official letter from the United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service denying the approval for the 62 proposed wind turbines called Horse Creek Wind Farm in the townships of Clayton and Orleans. This 16 page document reprimanded and frankly quite strict with PPM Energy in their lack of the many ommissions and incomplete information pertaining to natural resources found or expected in the project areas.

Wind farms can generate more power, but may be deadly to bats and

Thu, 03 May 2007 19:21:12 -0400

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Wind farms could generate as much as 7 percent
of U.S. electricity in 15 years, but scientists want to spend more
time studying the threat those spinning blades pose to birds and
bats.

The towers appear most dangerous to night-migrating songbirds,
bats and some hunting birds. The risk is not well enough known to
draw conclusions, a panel of the National Research Council said
Thursday in a study requested by Congress.

Wind has powered sailing ships for thousands of years and has
long been important to turn windmills that move water and grind
grain. Only in recent years had the potential of the wind to
generate electricity been tapped.

Wind farms generate electricity by using the wind to turn giant
blades that rotate turbines to make power. The blades have
diameters ranging from 230 to 295 feet and are mounted on towers
between 197 and 295 feet tall. Some farms contain hundreds of
towers. The one at Altamont Pass, Calif., has more than 5,000.

Growing from almost nothing in 1980, wind powered turbines
generated 11,605 megawatts of electricity in the United States in
2006, though that was still less than 1 percent of the national
power supply.

Wind farms now operate in 36 states. The report says estimates
are that this source could generate from 2 percent to 7 percent of
the nation's electricity within 15 years.

By reducing the need to generate electricity from by burning
fossil fuels the turbines have been welcomed as a boon to the
environment. Others worry about the danger to birds and bats,
impacts on wildlife habitat and what some see as a blight on the
scenery.

Overall, the report noted, the benefits of wind-energy
development such as reductions in air pollutants benefit wide
areas, while the environmental costs, such as effects on the
ecology and increased mortality of birds and bats, occur locally.

The Research Council, as arm of the National Academy of
Sciences, concluded that:

_By the year 2020 wind generators could offset as much as 4.5
percent of emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from
electricity production. The savings would be less in the
mid-Atlantic states where there is less regular wind.

_Wind generation in the mid-Atlantic highlands _ elevated
regions of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania _ is
unlikely to reduce emissions of nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide
because current and upcoming regulation will limit those emissions
in eastern states.

_In the mid-Atlantic highlands, preliminary studies indicate
that more bats are killed than expected based on experience with
bats in other regions. There is not enough information to determine
whether the number of bats killed will have overall effects on
populations. However, there has been a region-wide decline in
several species of bats in the eastern states, so the possibility
of population effects is significant.

_Turbines placed on ridges, as many are in the mid-Atlantic
highlands, appear to have a higher probability of causing bat
fatalities than those at many other sites

_At current levels of use, there is no evidence that fatalities
caused by wind turbines result in measurable demographic changes to
bird populations nationwide, with the possible exception of raptor
fatalities in the Altamont Pass area. However, data are lacking for
a many facilities.

_While aesthetic concerns often are the most heard about
proposed wind-energy projects, few decision processes adequately
address them.

_Other potential human impacts include effects on cultural
resources such as historic, sacred, archaeological and recreation
sites and the potential for electromagnetic interference with
television and radio broadcasting, cellular phones and radar.

_Building wind farms requires clearing land and soil disruption
and has the potential for erosion and noise.

_Regulation of wind farms is a developing area and better
technical guidance to the costs and benefits needs to be made
available. This guidance could be developed by state and local
governments working with groups composed of wind-energy developers
and non-governmental organizations representing all views of wind
energy, the committee said.

The National Academy is an independent organization chartered by
Congress to advise the government on scientific matters.

http://www.wkbw.com/news/consumer/7312211.html

— News report n WKBW in Buffalo NY 5/3/07 Submitted by mrssal

Golisano's visit to Albion

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 07:50:11 -0400

I attended the meeting in Orleans County on Monday night where Mr. Golisano and Mr. Pitman spoke regarding wind turbines in that county. To start off, Mr. G. looks pretty good as he has lost considerable amount of weight. BUT, I do not agree with his take on the wild life issue (there is no issue as they do not admit to a problem with bird and/or bat kill). From my point of view, since the towns cannot originate their own wind turbine business, he will front it for 10 years then turn it over to the town.

Wind Will Not Help Fight Global Warming

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 10:36:35 -0400

Rowe, MA -- Wind power will not help in the fight against global warming, says National Wind Watch, a coalition of individuals and grass-roots groups from around the country. Although many environmentalists look favorably towards large-scale wind power, it has proven to be ineffective and counterproductive.

Wind generated only 0.36 percent of the total electricity produced in the U.S. in 2005, according to the 2007 "Annual Energy Outlook" from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. They project that wind's share will be only 0.89 percent in 2030. A determined push could increase that number, but with many undesirable consequences for the environment, wildlife, and human health -- as documented on the National Wind Watch web site: www.wind-watch.org.

Bethany Wind Turbine Committee's January Report

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 10:56:11 -0500

I have obtained a copy of Bethany's "final" wind report. You can download it at http://www.effierover.com/downloads/ReportFinal.pdf

Don't know at this time if the town will offer it on their website (they usually do) or what the general reaction is.

Where Are the Defenders of Nature and Communities?

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 15:29:10 -0500

National Wind Watch challenges support of industrial wind power by major non-profit groups

[Press Release]

Rowe, Mass., October 26, 2006 -- Many advocacy groups, fighting global warming and the negative environmental and health impacts of fossil fuel or nuclear energy, have embraced large-scale wind power as part of a solution.

Those organizations are misguided in their support of wind energy, says National Wind Watch (NWW), a coalition of grass-root groups defending wild places and rural communities from industrial development.

Audubon's Committment to Wind Energy Called Superficial and Ill-Considered

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 10:40:27 -0400

Industrial Wind Action Group (IWA) questioned Audubon New York's program to purchase wind generated electricity for 100% of the energy used at its New York offices[1], calling the action symbolic and ill considered. Lisa Linowes, spokesperson for IWA, identified three key reasons Audubon New York's actions contradict their intended objectives:

1. Wind-generated electricity sourced from Nebraska's Ainsworth wind facility will never reach Audubon offices in New York.

Balance

Sat, 22 Jul 2006 12:47:13 -0400

We do not feel it makes sense to tackle one environmental problem by creating another

— UK Countryside Commission, 1997

Birds in Navarre, Spain

Fri, 07 Jul 2006 13:54:58 -0400

The wind developers will tell you that bird kill is nonexistant, or at least irrelevant.

But this photograph taken at Navarre, Spain, shows birds of prey that have been slaughtered by the spinning blades of wind turbines. Workers are routinely paid to pick up and dispose of the birds.

Workers at Tug Hill in New York are also paid to pick up birds on a weekly basis.

Windmills prove deadly to bats in Appalachians

Fri, 02 Dec 2005 14:17:04 -0500

Appalachian wind turbines are part of effort to develop clean source of energy, but they're killing thousands of bats.

Towering up to 228 feet above the Appalachian Mountain ridge, windmills are lined up like marching aliens from "War of the Worlds." Up close, they emit a high-pitched electrical hum. From a distance of a few hundred yards, their 115-foot blades make a steady whooshing sound as their tips cut through the air.

Shooting Down the Breeze

Fri, 09 Sep 2005 12:30:35 -0400

Faced with news that its wind turbines were killing thousands of bats at two wind farms on Appalachian mountain ridgelines, the nation’s largest wind power company reacted quickly.

The company, FPL Energy, barred scientists from pursuing follow-up work, pulled their $75,000 contribution from the research cooperative studying bat mortality and ended the doctoral work of a graduate student who had produced two years of data showing unusually high rates of bat death at the sites.