www.windaction.orgfacts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impactsWindactionhttp://www.windaction.org/articles/c95+36?theme=atomXarayar2006-06-12T02:16:27Z
Dead geese seen on roads near turbines.338272011-12-16T19:15:39Z2011-12-16T19:15:39ZOn the night of Dec. 7, I drove through some very thick fog. As I traveled state Route 190 from Ellenburg to Brainardsville my fog lights illuminated one of the grizzliest scenes I have experienced. I counted 15 bloody, mutilated corpses of snow geese spread out over several miles.Advocate: turbines not good for birds.297432010-11-03T23:27:31Z2010-11-03T23:27:31ZBased on migratory patterns of birds, the Canadian Wolfe Island wind project is the "worst sited build-out" Mr. Evans said he's seen. He stressed the importance of placing turbines in places where their impact on native species will be minimized.
International group calls for three-year wind farm moratorium .287382010-08-13T12:29:43Z2010-08-13T12:29:43ZAlarming bird and bat mortality rates at the Wolfe Island wind farm have an international group calling for a three-year moratorium on wind energy projects on the Upper St. Lawrence River and east end of Lake Ontario.
Save The River vice-president Stephanie Weiss said the 86-windmill farm has caused the death of 688 birds and bats, equalling eight per windmill.
Environmental group calls for wind farm moratorium.286372010-08-06T13:39:58Z2010-08-06T13:39:58ZAn environmental group is calling for a 3-year moratorium on wind farm development along the upper St. Lawrence River, citing potential threats to the region's bird and bat populations.Release: Save The River Calls for a Halt on Wind Energy Development Due to Environmental Concerns.286262010-08-04T03:45:18Z2010-08-04T03:45:18ZSave The River is urging local municipalities bordering the Upper St. Lawrence River in the U.S. and Canada to implement a three year moratorium on wind project development. The move was taken after careful review of recent data showing potentially high avian and bat mortality from the first six months of operation of the Wolfe Island Wind project, the only operating wind project in the region.Wolfe Island bird kills raise wind power concerns.281362010-07-07T11:20:54Z2010-07-07T11:20:54ZA recent study of bird and bat mortality at Wolfe Island's 82-turbine wind farm is raising concerns among environmentalists. An interview with Ornithologist Bill Evans explains the concerns.Wind turbine placement should take migrating birds into consideration, ornithologist says.239932009-11-08T14:11:49Z2009-11-08T14:11:49ZBill Evans wants to make it clear he's not against wind turbines.
"I'm not anti-wind. I'm a consultant who people call from both sides when there's a concern about the impact on migrating birds," he said.
Evans, 50, is an Ithaca-based ornithologist who has studied bird migration in North America for more than 25 years. He helped start the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's research into avian night flight calls in the mid-1990s and in 1998 founded the non-profit group Old Bird Inc.
DEC gives guidelines for turbine bird studies.200492009-02-17T20:02:45Z2009-02-17T20:02:45ZWind energy developers in New York now have guidelines on how to survey potential turbine sites for their impact on birds and bats.
Earlier this month, the state Department of Environmental Conservation issued its advice regarding how to minimize damage to bat and bird habitats.
"These guidelines set forth DEC's recommendations to commercial wind energy developers on how to characterize bird and bat resources at on-shore wind energy sites and how to estimate and document impacts resulting from the construction and operation of these projects."
DEC Issues Guidelines for Conducting Bird and Bat Studies at Commercial Wind Energy Projects.198462009-02-06T04:32:00Z2009-02-06T04:32:00ZNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis today announced that the agency has issued guidelines for evaluating the potential impacts of commercial wind energy projects on birds and bats in New York State.
"While wind energy has significant environmental benefits when compared to energy produced from fossil fuel, DEC must consider any potential negative environmental impacts of wind energy production when evaluating proposed projects," said Commissioner Grannis.
"White Nose Syndrome" in Bats Stalls Wind Farm.162602008-06-09T11:36:02Z2008-06-09T11:36:02ZThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife service has sent a letter to to the developers of three wind farms in upstate New York strongly urging they consider other locations for their proposed projects. Biologists for the agency are concerned that the wind farms will further threaten imperiled bat populations suffering from an unprecedented die-off.
One of the wind energy developers, Iberdrola Renewables has decided to hold off on moving forward with the Horse Creek project until the impacts of white nose syndrome on bat populations are better understood. But developers of the other two projects have yet to make similar moves.
Wind project held up by bats.162412008-06-07T13:57:20Z2008-06-07T13:57:20ZLaury A. Zicari, deputy supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the service sent letters to all three northern Jefferson County wind developers "strongly urging them to look at other places."
But, she said, the service isn't near the point of saying the developer couldn't install the project.
"Studies are needed to know the impacts," Ms. Zicari said. "We've provided comments on the proposal to date."
As part of the state environmental quality review and the federal permitting process, studies are done on the potential impacts of any development. As part of necessary permits, state and federal agencies may add requirements for lessening or paying for those impacts.
Another meteorological tower for Westfield.145662008-03-09T06:40:21Z2008-03-09T06:40:21ZPeter Gross of Babcock and Brown presented a request for a permit to put up another meteorological tower in the town of Westfield.
According to Gross, after the public meetings about the possibility of wind farms in the Westfield-Ripley area, several families approached him about how they could become involved in the project.
"They came to us which started us looking at the possibilities in that area," Gross said. "We won't know for sure until we have the readings from the met tower but we're proceeding with hopeful caution."
New York Sets Guidelines for Wind Turbine Harm to Birds, Bats.138422008-01-29T14:20:35Z2008-01-29T14:20:35ZGuidelines meant to facilitate wind power development across New York state while minimizing the potential impacts to birds and bats were proposed Thursday by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, DEC.
Currently, six wind farms are operating with a rated capacity of 423 megawatts from 263 turbines in Madison, Wyoming, Lewis and Erie counties. ...During the environmental review process, wind energy proposals must include assessments of the impacts the project could have on wildlife - especially birds and bats - and other natural resources. In the past, these assessments have been completed on a case-by-case basis.
The draft guidelines suggest that before expending a lot of effort to site a wind energy project, developers should determine whether or not the location is within the habitat of a bird or bat species that is listed as threatened or endangered.
DEC proposes wind energy bird, bat protection guidelines.137672008-01-24T19:05:39Z2008-01-24T19:05:39ZState environmental officials want wind energy developers to pay closer attention to how their projects will affect birds and bats.
The Department of Environmental Conservation proposed a set of guidelines to promote wind power and minimize the danger to birds and bats.
Developers have been required to analyze how wind projects would affect wildlife before they are allowed to build and the new guidelines will standardize that review.
Audubon Society questions data on birds, wind.137402008-01-23T18:12:45Z2008-01-23T18:12:45ZThe Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society is questioning the methods used by Invenergy LLC to conduct bird surveys at the proposed Moresville wind-farm site in Roxbury and Stamford.
Invenergy officials say the studies were done correctly.
The Audubon Society issued a letter in November expressing support for wind power as an alternative to fossil-fueled and nuclear energy, but added that the 2005 surveys of birds done at the project site are flawed.
"Moresville has taken some serious shortcuts in their avian studies," Andy Mason, DOAS conservation chairman, said in a media release. "They carried out radar studies of nocturnal bird migration, but the radar location was 2-1/2 miles away and 1,000 feet lower than the ridge where the wind turbines would be located."
