US Fish and Wildlife Service, Wet Virginia field office, issued these comments regarding the Pinnacle wind power project proposed for ridgelines in Mineral County, WV. The comments pertain to the Habitat Characterization and Assessment of Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species for the Pinnacle Wind Farm (BHE Environmental 2009a); the Avian Risk Assessment for the Pinnacle Wind Power Project (Kerlinger 2009); and the Bat Risk Assessment: Pinnacle Wind Farm (BHE Environmental 2009b). Excerpts of the letter are provided below. The full report can be accessed by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page.

This impacting order by New York's Public Service Commission requires renewable energy developers to quantify and qualify whether their proposed project, if built, will displace other renewable energy and in what amounts. (Case Number 09-E-0497)

This important report, which appeared in the Wildlife Society's Journal of Wildlife Management, details the effect on raptor and bird mortality following repowering a portion of the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (APWRA) in California (USA). Repowering involves removing older generation towers and replacing them with higher capacity -- and potentially better sited -- units. The abstract to this report appears below. The full report can be accessed by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.

In response to sound studies from commercial wind developers, a series of background noise surveys were conducted in Cape Vincent, NY between May and July 2008. The survey approach included sampling at night under stable atmospheric conditions and systematically selecting monitoring stations at 1.6 km intervals. Stable conditions occurred in 67% of nights and in 30% of those nights, wind velocities represented worse-case conditions where ground level winds were less than 2 m/s and hub-height winds were greater than wind turbine cut-in speed, 4 m/s. The median A-weighted L90a,9hr sound pressure level was 25.7 and 26.7 dBA. C-weighted SPLs from the two mobile surveys were 40.0 dBC and 43.9 dBC. Assuming 45 dBA background noise, developers of the St. Lawrence Wind Farm predicted noise impacts would not exceed local and New York guidelines. However, assuming worse-case conditions using 25.6 dBA background noise, nearly all residences within range of the St Lawrence Wind Farm exceeded New York guidelines and more than half would have noise levels considered "objectionable" to "intolerable".

Save The River, the leading grassroots advocacy organization working to protect the St. Lawrence River, submitted these comments to the Town of Cape Vincent, NY encouraging adoption of a one-year moratorium on all wind energy development.

This page contains links to letters sent between the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the U.S. Fish and Wild Service regarding whether wind power development is permitted in Wyoming's 'core sage grouse habitat area'. Brian Kelly of the USFWS states in his letter that “ . . . constructing wind farms in core areas, even for research purposes, prior to demonstrating it can be done with no impact to sage grouse, negates the usefulness of the core area concept as a conservation strategy and brings into question whether adequate regulatory mechanisms are in place to protect the species.”

This letter was prepared in response to the March 13, 2009 recommendations of the Clayton Wind Law Committee, a committee established by the Town Board. The comments contained are limited to the town’s consideration of limits on the development of utility-scale, industrial wind turbines, especially as part of a multi-turbine wind farm. NY Attorney Gary Abraham submitted the letter on behalf of Environmentally Concerned Citizens Organization (ECCO).

Paul D. Schomer of Schomer & Associates Inc., was invited by the residents of Cape Vincent, NY to evaluate the pre-construction noise studies conducted Hessler and Associates. Dr. Schomer is chairman of the International Organization for Standardization working group on environmental noise and chairman of the American National Standards committee on noise, among other leadership roles in noise measurement. His findings contradict the studies done by Hessler Associates Inc. The executive summary of his report is reproduced on this page. His full report can be accessed by clicking on the link below.

Cohocton, NY permitted First Wind (formerly UPC Wind) to construct two wind energy facilities in the town on private land. Noise complaints started almost immediately after the turbines became operational. Windaction.org has been notified that the below letter was sent by Cohocton's town supervisor to First Wind.