Technical Considerations in Siting Wind Developments
Author:
The National Wind Coordinating Committee is an advisory group that promotes wind energy development. While they encourage mitigation, they also tend to trivialize and gloss over serious issues. When battling inappropriate development, it’s always good to know what these types of influential groups are advocating.
“Over the past 30 years, the U.S. Federal Wind Energy Program has studied and addressed a variety of environmental issues associated with wind energy development, including:
- Possible effects on flora and fauna
- Audible and low frequency impulsive noise measurement and mitigation methods
- TV and other electromagnetic interference from wind turbines
- Public reaction to different turbine configurations and aesthetics
- Ways to avoid or reduce bird and bat collisions with rotor blades.
“The National Wind Coordinating Committee (NWCC) establishes dialogue among key stakeholders and catalyzes appropriate activities related to these types of wind power issues. The intent of NWCC’s December 2005 meeting Technical Considerations in Siting Wind Developments was to provide a forum for presentation and discussion of leading activities addressing non-wildlife siting issues.1 These proceedings provide a summary of presentations offered at the meeting and the ensuing dialogue among participants. Information and issues discussed herein need to be viewed in the context of the entire range of environmental benefits and impacts arising from wind power development.”
