US Fish and Wildlife Service responded to Gamesa Energy USA in regard to whether an “Incidental take” permit could be granted for the Shaffer Mountain wind project proposed for Somerset County, PA. An “Incidental take” permit allows for the destruction of federally listed species. A subset of the letter is included on this page. The full letter, in PDF format, can be accessed by clicking on the link below.

Letter to Tyrone Mayor James Kilmartin in response to Mayor Kilmartin's request for community input on a potential wind facility. Gamesa is proposing to erect 10-15 wind turbines on borough property located on Ice Mountain for a total of 25 units on the ridge tops in the area.

This report, authored by the Wind Energy and Bats subcommittee to the Pennsylvania Biological Survey's (PaBS) Mammal Technical Committee, documents the PA Game Commission's direct side-stepping of a long-established memorandum of agreement with the PaBS when the Game Commission developed and finalized the Wind Energy Voluntary Cooperation Agreement without the review or input of the Biological Survey. The memorandum of agreement was created over 10 years ago to help ensure that the Game Commission obtained advice from experts about actions affecting the mammals inhabiting the Commonwealth.

This document includes studies in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.

The generation of electricity by wind is a growing industry in Pennsylvania. While wind energy is certainly an attractive alternative to the pollution produced by fossil fuel power plants, all potential environmental impacts must be measured if electricity produced this way is to truly qualify as “green energy.” Surprisingly, only minimal environmental studies need to be done to site a wind farm in Pennsylvania. Improper siting of some wind farms in the U.S. has impacted migratory bird, resident bird, and bat populations. We present bird-impaction data from an industrial facility 30 km south of a proposed wind farm in Luzurne County, Pennsylvania, that suggest caution in the blind embrace of this energy technology. Siting decisions are made at the local government levels and are primarily based on economic incentives. We argue (a) that this energy alternative must incorporate robust site-specific impaction studies at each wind farm to demonstrate effects throughout the Commonwealth, and (b) that local government officials be given the guidance necessary to encourage and provide environmental oversight to wind farms in their areas.

The BWEC implemented research to improve fatality search protocols for bats and to evaluate interactions between bats and wind turbines from 31 July through 13 September 2004, the period when bat fatalities have most often been reported at wind facilities. The goal was to establish a basis for developing solutions to prevent or minimize threats to bats at wind energy facilities.

After reviewing data collected during a groundbreaking research effort, the Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative (BWEC), a government-conservationindustry partnership, reported today substantial bat kills at two wind farms in the mid-Atlantic region between August 1 and September 13 of 2004. The report summarizes the first year’s research on potential causes and solutions. The research included the most detailed studies ever performed on bat fatality at wind sites and provides a foundation for further efforts aimed at better understanding why bats are being killed and how to minimize future fatalities.

Written on behalf of the Friends of the Appalachian Highlands this letter addresses the threat to the Indiana Bat.

Dear Mr. Boone:

I am in receipt of the information you sent regarding the Meyersdale wind project and the risk to bats, specifically Indiana bats in that area and your request for my opinion on this project. I have also done some research on my own concerning wind turbines and its affects on bats, to determine what data are available in the scientific literature in this area. I base this opinion on data and scientific literature, and my 16 years experience studying bat biology and bat ecology.