Do Wind Turbines Really Kill Birds?
(Page 3 of 4)
March 4, 2009
By Alison Rogers
Another potentially larger issue involves the appropriate size of the search area. With wind wake turbulence and impacts from blade tip vortices, bird and bat carcasses may be blown far beyond the current search areas (the search radius is now generally no larger than the height of the turbine, often less in size). Until a robust, scientifically rigorous cumulative impacts study is performed, we won’t know with any degree of certainty what the true level of mortality actually is.
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When the industry raises issues about other sources of mortality that are estimated to be much greater than from wind facilities (such as collisions from communication towers, building windows and automobiles), the Service views that as a detraction from the issue at hand. We need to return the focus to how to avoid or minimize impacts to wildlife species and their habitats from commercial wind development. The death, for example, of one whooping crane — which may soon have to fly through a gauntlet of thousands of turbines through the prairie states during spring and fall migrations — would have a severe impact on its fragile population.
What needs to happen in order to move ahead with renewable energy development, without placing further strain on wildlife?
AM: Commercial wind development continues to grow exponentially, with more than 25,000 turbines on the U.S. landscape today, and a projected 155,000 or more turbines within the next 10 years. With rotor-swept areas approaching 4 acres in size, blade tips now exceeding 425 feet in height above ground level, and blade tips still spinning at 170 mph, the challenge only grows. Add the impacts of power line right-of-ways (power grids) to collect the energy produced from wind facilities, plus all other anthropocentric structures present on the landscape, and the challenge is huge.
As the agency responsible for protecting and managing migratory birds, bats and other endangered species, all wind developers need to be working with the Fish and Wildlife Service. Yet our recommended siting guidelines remain voluntary, resulting in inconsistent use — or lack thereof — of the guidelines on private lands. With the pending release later this year of recommendations to the Service from a federal advisory committee developing suggested improvements to our guidelines, it is hoped that industry collaboration will improve.
Fortunately, there are many outstanding minds that are working together to help solve these challenges. While there are no deterrent devices (ultrasound, infrasound, or lasers) that have shown great promise, there are some tools that may help in avoiding and minimizing adverse wildlife impacts (blade “feathering,” increased blade “cut-in” speeds, project set-backs, and more).
