Turns out birds aren't the only species at risk from wind farms. Last week, the Bonneville Power Administration and salmon in the Columbia River Basin had a close call. As reported by The Oregonian:

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Columbia Basin river managers had a close call this week when they were forced to cut back on hydropower after a surge in wind energy blasted through the system.

The surge forced them to spill more water over dams, risking the health of migrating fish.

Problems began Monday afternoon when wind speeds jumped far beyond levels forecast by wind-farm operators. BPA, responsible for adjusting hydro generation to accommodate the wind, realized by evening that it could no longer handle the sustained surge without increasing spills to dangerous levels

Generally, spills are needed to help juvenile salmon make their way downriver. But too much water can prove lethal.

That evening marked the first time BPA has had to order wind operators to dump generation. But as more wind projects are developed, it won't be the last, BPA said.
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Much has been written about the direct harm that the spinning of wind-turbine blades poses to migratory birds, but last week's events in Oregon highlight another challenge for wind energy: the indirect harm to fish from the disruptions to power systems that result from wind's variability. Power operators must ensure balance on the grid, in order to avert power spikes, brownouts, and blackouts, and the unpredictable nature of wind only makes this complicated job much tougher.

Call me crazy, but maybe it would be prudent to stop mandating (not to mention subsidizing and incentivizing) massive wind-energy development and start working out the kinks in wind-energy technology while we figure out what role wind should play in the energy-supply mix. Maybe examine whether wind energy will ever be a reliable, affordable energy source before Congress and the various state legislatures declare it to be a winner, without knowing how things will play out. (Think ethanol.) If not, salmon are the least of our worries.