National Wind Watch: Documents » Wildlife http://www.wind-watch.org/documents http://www.wind-watch.org/nwwlogo-white-50.jpg National Wind Watch: Documents » Wildlife http://www.wind-watch.org/documents 100 40 Industrial Wind Resource Library, from National Wind Watch Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:26:09 +0000 en hourly 1 Documents ~ Wind power Wind energy Investigating the impacts of windfarm development on peatlands in England http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/investigating-the-impacts-of-windfarm-development-on-peatlands-in-england/ Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:43:36 +0000 23 Feb 2010 ~ Natural England EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Blanket mire covers about 1.5m hectares of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, mostly in the uplands, and is often a dominant part of our landscape. Its altitudinal limit depends on its location with the UK and is found even at sea level in the extreme north and west. It is composed of peat deposits up to several metres thick and represents a significant store of carbon as partially decomposed plant material. It is also an important biodiversity resource because of its plant communities and the animals and plants inhabiting it. It also represents a group of locations in which wind velocities are reliably high, and where the agricultural value is relatively low. The development of wind farms on peat raises a number of issues, some of which are not easy to resolve. This report describes the issues, reviews the available literature and provides guidance at stages from drawing up wind farm proposals, through Environmental Impact assessment requirements, to the provision of effective mitigation where this is possible.

Although peat is a widespread substance its physical properties differ from those with which engineers are more experienced. For example, it is mostly water, relatively light and compressible, but has very low internal cohesion. As a continuous deposit that may have accumulated without interruption over several thousands of years it has a two-layered structure that enables water to flow through its top few tens of centimetres. It is waterlogged below, and the anoxic conditions make it an ideal environment for the preservation of human artefacts and even bodies, and of other biogenic indicators of past human activity and climate.

The living biological (biodiversity) resource is concentrated at and above (birds) the surface where growth can take place, but is dependent on maintaining the hydrological and hydro-chemical conditions arising from the long and uninterrupted accumulation of the peat. The growth of the Sphagnum mosses and cotton sedges, so important in the continued accumulation of peat, can only occur where the rain-fed water table remains within a few centimetres of the peat surface for most of the year.

Changes have taken place over time so that much of the UK’s blanket peat is no longer peat-forming, and is described as degraded. The processes involved in degradation, such as the lowering of the water table and the concentration of surface water flow so that the peat becomes eroded from ever-widening gullies, are incremental, and can lead to complete peat loss in locations such as Holme Moss, West Yorkshire. In such areas the peat can no longer support the specific plant cover which makes up its biodiversity importance; and erosion of the peat results in sedimentation and increased colour (dissolved organic carbon) down stream which have negative impacts on water resources, such as drinking water reservoirs. Much of the UK’s upland peat is degraded. It may retain vestiges of its previous vegetation, or contain replacement plant types characteristic of non-peat environments. The UK BAP has a target to restore 70% of the degraded area to active bog. It is against this background, of a mixed intact and degraded resource, that the potential impact of wind farms on deep peat has been assessed.

Wind farm developments can have impacts at the construction, operational and decommissioning stages. The types of impact are common to all stages, and involve: changes in water levels and flow, and dissection of the peat mass, but the duration and intensity varies. In summary, impacts result from the construction of access roads, the casting of turbine bases, the installation of turbines, drainage works associated with the construction process and operation of the site, ongoing maintenance, and then removal of turbines at decommissioning.

Roads may “float” on the peat surface or be cut and filled to the sub-peat base. They require vegetation to be removed, waste peat to be disposed of, non-peat materials to be introduced, the movement of water over the peat surface and through its layers to be interrupted. They change the balance of water availability to different parts of the peat bog and channel surface flow so that is has a greater risk of initiating, or exacerbating, erosion. The digging of voids to caste turbine bases generates waste peat, introduces alkaline concrete and requires some drainage, as do the tracks. Drainage measures have the potential to lower the water level in the blanket bog, resulting in degradation and oxidation of peat. At sites which have a risk of peat slide, there is the additional risk of catastrophic peat failure and landslide. This can have catastrophic consequences for land and the environment, including water resources and fish populations, downstream. The actions taken in construction and operation of wind farms can add to the risk of peat slide.

Although the impacts on intact and degraded bog are much the same, on a degraded bog there are opportunities for the wind farm construction works to include measures that would improve the condition of the degraded bog, which are not present with an intact bog. On all types of blanket bog, how a wind farms is designed, constructed and operated makes a significant difference to how much the blanket bog is affected. Tracks can be designed to reduce the existing erosive forces, and be engineered so as not to create new ones. The blocking of existing drains and moor-grips can lead to beneficial changes towards “favourable condition”, the index of quality condition used in biodiversity assessments.

The ease with which erosion can be triggered, and the amount of material that can be eroded, increases with the depth of the peat deposit. In general, there are far more risks associated with the development of wind farms on deep peat than on peat less than 0.5m thick, or on the fringes around blanket peat. The imperatives for avoiding development on blanket bog sites are greater for those sites with international and national conservation designations. This leaves the remainder blanket bog resource relatively unprotected. These guidelines are intended to ensure that, where there are choices, wise judgements are made, so that the necessary proportion of the resource remains intact for biodiversity improvement and for atmospheric carbon capture in designated and undesignated sites alike.

8 January 2010

naturalengland.org.uk

Download original document: “Investigating the impacts of windfarm development on peatlands in England”

Download the: Appendices and References

]]> http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1691 http://www.twitter.com/home?status=http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1691+Investigating+the+impacts+of+windfarm+development+on+peatlands+in+England+-windpower Documents ~ Wind power Wind energy Formal objection to Tirgwynt wind farm application http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/formal-objection-to-tirgwynt-wind-farm-application/ Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:42:22 +0000 11 Feb 2010 ~ Conservation of Upland Powys Conservation of Upland Powys was formed by people living within the county, our members range from families that have farmed the same land for generations to those who have more recently chosen the tranquillity, beauty and quality of mid-Wales life for their home. Our diverse membership, from all ages and all walks of life, shares the commitment to preserve the unspoilt uplands of Powys from inappropriate development for the benefit and enjoyment of everyone. We have inherited the timeless beauty of these landscapes from our forebears and we recognise our duty to hand these pristine landscapes and environments on to future generations in the same, or better condition as we received them. The proliferation of wind turbines is a serious current and long-term threat to upland wildlife, landscapes and the ways of life that they support. We base our statements and conclusions on real world evidence and find none to support the contention that wind farms will provide secure, reliable electricity or reduce carbon dioxide levels.

To begin we refer you to The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study which is a major international initiative to draw attention to the global economic benefits of biodiversity, to highlight the growing costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, and to draw together expertise from the fields of science, economics and policy to enable practical actions moving forward. http://www.teebweb.org/

“Humankind still has a lot to learn about the nature of Value and the value of Nature”

The access to information in the EIA is grossly inadequate and not in keeping with Equal Opportunities or Social Inclusion legislation.

The fragmentation of information throughout numerous volumes and chapters of the application makes the assimilation of information time consuming and arduous. We question whether the information provided by the developers complies with DDA regulations and whether it is reasonable to expect local people to pay to be able to study the information; or alternatively travel to the nearest large town to view the ES for a short period. This and the other similar applications do not comply with Equal Opportunities or Social Inclusion objectives identified by Westminster and The National Assembly For Wales. With the best will in the world it would be almost impossible for any member of the public to study the documents in the Powys County Council Offices; the documents are difficult to navigate. We also point out that in the hardcopy some pages are not numbered and in the DVD copy the index/contents page does not work electronically: such simple matters left undone, but an example of the standard of this piece of work.

We conclude from information assimilated so far that this application is disproportionate, causing severe degradation of the landscape and social and economic dislocation for only a marginal, or even illusory, benefit. The layout is in conflict with the area and even with other applications. The LANDMAP description of Esgair Cwm Owen Uplands uses positive adjectives (harmonious, attractive) in contrast to adjacent upland areas where wind farms are sited. …

Download original document: “Conservation of Upland Powys – Formal objection to Tirgwynt wind farm application”

]]> http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1683 http://www.twitter.com/home?status=http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1683+Formal+objection+to+Tirgwynt+wind+farm+application+-windpower Documents ~ Wind power Wind energy New publications on bats and wind turbines http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/new-publications-on-bats-and-wind-turbines/ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:08:23 +0000 22 Dec 2009 ~ Journal of Mammalogy, vol. 90 Cryan, Paul; and Barclay, Robert. 2009. Causes of Bat Fatalities at Wind Turbines: Hypotheses and Predictions. Journal of Mammalogy 90, 1330-1340.

Abstract. Thousands of industrial-scale wind turbines are being built across the world each year to meet the growing demand for sustainable energy. Bats of certain species are dying at wind turbines in unprecedented numbers.Species of bats consistently affected by turbines tend to be those that rely on trees as roosts and most migrate long distances. Although considerable progress has been made in recent years toward better understanding the problem, the causes of bat fatalities at turbines remain unclear. In this synthesis, we review hypothesized causes of bat fatalities at turbines. Hypotheses of cause fall into 2 general categories proximate and ultimate. Proximate causes explain the direct means by which bats die at turbines and include collision with towers and rotating blades, and barotrauma. Ultimate causes explain why bats come close to turbines and include 3 general types: random collisions, coincidental collisions, and collisions that result from attraction of bats to turbines. The random collision hypothesis posits that interactions between bats and turbines are random events and that fatalities are representative of the bats present at a site. Coincidental hypotheses posit that certain aspects of bat distribution or behavior put them at risk of collision and include aggregation during migration and seasonal increases in flight activity associated with feeding or mating. A surprising number of attraction hypotheses suggest that bats might be attracted to turbines out of curiosity, misperception, or as potential feeding, roosting, flocking, and mating opportunities. Identifying, prioritizing, and testing hypothesized causes of bat collisions with wind turbines are vital steps toward developing practical solutions to the problem.

Download complete article: “Causes of Bat Fatalities at Wind Turbines”

Ahlén, Ingemar; Baagoe, Hans; and Bach, Lothar. 2009. Behavior of Scandinavian Bats during Migration and Foraging at Sea. Journal of Mammalogy 90, 1318-1323.

Abstract. We studied bats migrating and foraging over the sea by direct observations and automatic acoustic recording. We recorded 11 species (of a community of 18 species) flying over the ocean up to 14 km from the shore. All bats used sonar during migration flights at sea, often with slightly lower frequencies and longer pulse intervals compared to those used over land. The altitude used for migration flight was most often 10 m above sea level. Bats must use other sensory systems for long-distance navigation, but they probably use echoes from the water surface to orient to the immediate surroundings. Both migrant and resident bats foraged over the sea in areas with an abundance of insects in the air and crustaceans in the surface waters. When hunting insects near vertical objects such as lighthouses and wind turbines, bats rapidly changed altitude, for example, to forage around turbine blades. The findings illustrate why and how bats might be exposed to additional mortality by offshore wind power.

Baerwald, Erin; and Barclay, Robert. 2009. Geographic Variation in Activity and Fatality of Migratory Bats at Wind Energy Facilities. Journal of Mammalogy 90, 1341-1349.

Abstract. Little is known regarding the migratory behavior of bats, due in part to their elusive nature. Recently, however, fatalities of migratory bats at some wind energy facilities across North America have provided the opportunity and impetus to study bat migration at the landscape level. Using acoustic monitoring and carcass searches, we examined variation in activity levels and fatality rates of bats across southern Alberta, Canada, to determine if bat activity and fatality are concentrated in certain areas or evenly distributed across the landscape. To investigate geographical variation in bat activity, we acoustically monitored activity from 15 July to 15 September 2006 and 2007 at 7 proposed or existing wind energy installations across southern Alberta (~155 km between the most westerly wind energy facility and the most easterly). Activity of migratory bats varied among sites, suggesting that, rather than migrating in a dispersed way across a broad area, bats concentrate along select routes. To investigate variation in bat fatality rates among wind energy installations, we compiled fatality data collected between 2001 and 2007 from 6 wind energy facilities and conducted carcass searches at 3 wind energy installations in 2006 and 2007. Fatality rates differed among the 9 sites, partly due to differences in turbine height, but also due to differences in migratory-bat activity and the interaction between bat activity and turbine height. Our results indicate that bats migrate in certain areas and that measuring migratory activity may allow wind energy facilities to be placed so as to minimize bat fatalities.

Download complete article: “Geographic Variation in Activity and Fatality of Migratory Bats at Wind Energy Facilities”

]]> http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1619 http://www.twitter.com/home?status=http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1619+New+publications+on+bats+and+wind+turbines+-windpower Documents ~ Wind power Wind energy Residents of Vinalhaven, Maine, speak about wind turbine noise http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/residents-of-vinalhaven-maine-speak-about-wind-turbine-noise/ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:45:09 +0000 21 Dec 2009 ~ WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Vinalhaven residents discuss what it has been like living with the windpower project on the island. Produced by Mark Elwin.

archives.weru.org/voices

Weekend Voices 12/19/09

Executive Producer/Host: Amy Browne

]]> http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1618 http://www.twitter.com/home?status=http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1618+Residents+of+Vinalhaven,+Maine,+speak+about+wind+turbine+noise+-windpower Documents ~ Wind power Wind energy Large scale risk-assessment of wind-farms on population viability of a globally endangered long-lived raptor http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/large-scale-risk-assessment-of-wind-farms-on-population-viability-of-a-globally-endangered-long-lived-raptor/ Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:08:25 +0000 15 Dec 2009 ~ Carrete, Martina; Sánchez-Zapata, José; Benítez, José; Lobón, Manuel; and Donázar, José A B S T R A C T
Wind-farms receive public and governmental support as an alternative energy source mitigating air pollution. However, they can have adverse effects on wildlife, particularly through collision with turbines. Research on wind-farm effects has focused on estimating mortality rates, behavioural changes or interspecific differences in vulnerability. Studies dealing with their effects on endangered or rare species populations are notably scarce. We tested the hypothesis that wind-farms increase extinction probability of long-lived species through increments in mortality rates. For this purpose, we evaluate potential consequences of wind-farms on the population dynamics of a globally endangered long-lived raptor in an area where the species maintains its greatest stronghold and wind-farms are rapidly increasing. Nearly one-third of all breeding territories of our model species are in wind-farm risk zones. Our intensive survey shows that wind-farms decrease survival rates of this species differently depending on individual breed- ing status. Consistent with population monitoring, population projections showed that all subpopulations and the meta-population are decreasing. However, population sizes and, therefore, time to extinction significantly decreased when wind-farm mortality was included in models. Our results represent a qualitative warning exercise showing how very low reductions in survival of territorial and non-territorial birds associated with wind-farms can strongly impact population viability of long-lived species. This highlights the need for examining long-term impacts of wind-farms rather than focusing on short-term mortality, as is often promoted by power companies and some wildlife agencies. Unlike other non-natural causes of mortality difficult to eradicate or control, wind-farm fatalities can be lowered by powering down or removing risky turbines and/or farms, and by placing them outside areas critical for endangered birds.

Biological Conservation, doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2009.07.027

Martina Carrete and José A. Donázar: Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), La Cartuja, Sevilla, Spain; José A. Sánchez-Zapata: Department of Applied Biology, University Miguel Hernández, Orihuela, Alicante, Spain; José R. Benítez and Manuel Lobón: Colectivo Ornitológico Cigüeña Negra, Tarifa, Cádiz, Spain

Download original document: “Large scale risk-assessment of wind-farms on population viability of a globally endangered long-lived raptor”

]]> http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1604 http://www.twitter.com/home?status=http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1604+Large+scale+risk-assessment+of+wind-farms+on+population+viability+of+a+globally+endangered+long-lived+raptor+-windpower Documents ~ Wind power Wind energy They’re Not Green Episode 6 http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/theyre-not-green-episode-6/ Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:46:25 +0000 06 Dec 2009 ~ Peña, Nettie Golden Eagles along with thousand of other birds are killed yearly by wind turbines at Altamont Pass. Dr. Shawn Smallwood, biologist, has collected data on the bird fatalities at Altamont Pass since 1999. He is convinced that the process of approving Wind Farms in rural communities has become corrupt.

They’re Not Green web site

]]> http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1590 http://www.twitter.com/home?status=http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1590+They’re+Not+Green+Episode+6+-windpower Documents ~ Wind power Wind energy Location, Location, Location … Migration, Migration, Migration http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/location-location-location-migration-migration-migration/ Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:32:39 +0000 03 Dec 2009 ~ Wegner, Wayne Clearly, the shorelines of Ontario’s Great Lakes are altars upon which naturalists worship. On peak days, it’s possible to see more hawks, monarch butterflies and other migrants than almost anywhere else in North America. In very few other locations on earth can you find these ideal conditions to watch the miracle of migration unfold. Yet a threat looms large on the horizon which could unravel that miracle in the coming decades: the Industrial Wind Turbine (IWT). …

Download original document: “Location, Location, Location … Migration, Migration, Migration”

]]> http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1586 http://www.twitter.com/home?status=http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1586+Location,+Location,+Location+…+Migration,+Migration,+Migration+-windpower Documents ~ Wind power Wind energy They’re Not Green Episode 5 http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/theyre-not-green-episode-5/ Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:32:10 +0000 30 Nov 2009 ~ Peña, Nettie Politicians ignore the voices of their constituents regarding windmills. The wind turbines kill birds and bats. The Leaf-Nosed Bat, once abundant in Southern California, has disappeared from the desert by San Jacinto Mountains.

They’re Not Green web site

]]> http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1585 http://www.twitter.com/home?status=http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1585+They’re+Not+Green+Episode+5+-windpower Documents ~ Wind power Wind energy Bird species of concern at wind farms in New Zealand http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/bird-species-of-concern-at-wind-farms-in-new-zealand/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:17:29 +0000 21 Nov 2009 ~ Powlesland, R. G. ABSTRACT
Wind generation currently contributes about 1.5% of New Zealand’s energy production, but the forecast rapid expansion in wind farm construction is likely to take this to close to 20% over the next 10 years. To date, no published studies are available giving accounts of the impacts of wind farms on birdlife in New Zealand; therefore, part of the challenge is to determine which species are likely to be adversely affected by wind farm construction and operation here. This resource document provides a brief summary of the threat ranking, distribution and movements of native and migrant bird species on the North and South Islands of New Zealand, and the potential impacts that wind farms may have on them (displacement, habitat loss and collision fatalities). The following species warrant particular consideration when present as residents in the vicinity of a wind farm, or when likely to be moving through a wind farm area on migration or during local movements: all kiwi, Australasian crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus), all penguins, threatened species of herons and allies, blue duck (Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos), brown teal (Anas aucklandica), New Zealand falcon (Falco novaeseelandiae), waders (Charadrii), and cuckoos. More research is required into the migratory behaviour of several native species to determine which wind farm sites are most likely to result in collision fatalities. In addition, data on the rates of avoidance of wind turbines by birds flying through wind farms is required, especially for those undertaking nocturnal migrations. The number of collision fatalities at New Zealand wind farms needs to be determined using systematic searches that take account of searcher efficiency and scavenger activity.

September 2009

New Zealand Department of Conservation Research & Development Series 317

Download original document: “Bird species of concern at wind farms in New Zealand”

]]> http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1577 http://www.twitter.com/home?status=http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1577+Bird+species+of+concern+at+wind+farms+in+New+Zealand+-windpower Documents ~ Wind power Wind energy Range management practices to reduce wind turbine impacts on burrowing owls and other raptors in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, California http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/range-management-practices-to-reduce-wind-turbine-impacts-on-burrowing-owls-and-other-raptors-in-the-altamont-pass-wind-resource-area-california/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:44:08 +0000 19 Nov 2009 ~ East Bay Regional Park District Abstract: The East Bay Regional Park District studied the impacts of wind turbines on raptors at its properties in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (APWRA). Several studies were conducted to provide information useful to reducing impacts to raptors due to construction or repowering of wind farms. The studies’ objectives included determining whether vegetation height can be managed to affect the distribution of small mammals near wind turbines to reduce risk to raptors, determining the effectiveness of seasonal wind turbine shutdowns to reduce raptor collisions with wind turbines, relating burrowing owl population size to mortality, determining factors that affect raptor behavior and spatial distribution, estimating scavenger removal rates of bird carcasses, and assessing wind turbine repowering scenarios.

Prepared for Public Interest Energy Research Program, California Energy Commission

October 2009

Download original document: “Range management practices to reduce wind turbine impacts on burrowing owls and other raptors in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, California”

]]> http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1564 http://www.twitter.com/home?status=http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/?p=1564+Range+management+practices+to+reduce+wind+turbine+impacts+on+burrowing+owls+and+other+raptors+in+the+Altamont+Pass+Wind+Resource+Area,+California+-windpower