Wind Power News: Bats
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Protect our bats
Disease and heedless management of wind turbines are killing North America’s bats, with potentially devastating consequences for agriculture and human health. We have yet to find a cure for the disease known as white-nose syndrome, which has decimated populations of hibernating, cave-dwelling bats in the Northeast. But we can reduce the turbine threat significantly without dismantling them or shutting them down. White-nose syndrome (also known as W.N.S.) was first documented in February 2006 in upstate New York, where it may . . . Complete story »
Lake Erie wind project not safe for birds
I am contacting you about a recent article, “Icebreaker ‘safe for birds, bats’” because it truly was one-sided and misleading to readers. I would like to add that I do not believe this was intentional. The expert quoted for the article made the following statement “Biologically significant impacts to any bird or bat species, including those that are endangered and threatened, are highly unlikely”. The article also went on to say that Mr. Kerlinger drew upon survey data collected at . . . Complete story »
California approves voluntary siting guidelines
Critics says California’s new guidelines for reducing impacts to wildlife from wind energy could be a burden to the industry. In early October, the California Energy Commission (CEC) unanimously approved new guidelines designed to reduce the number of bird and bat deaths from wind turbines. The wind power industry is watching California carefully to see how these new voluntary guidelines will affect wind energy growth. Already, there is a ripple effect across the country, with appointments made recently for a . . . Complete story »
Wind power isn't always green energy
The Texas Hill Country, home to the world’s largest remaining bat colonies, has recently been the focus of proposals for wind energy projects. We are deeply concerned about the potentially serious consequences to Hill Country wildlife – ironically, from an energy source commonly labeled “green.” Several of America’s leading wind energy producers – Florida Power and Light, PPM Energy and AES SeaWest – have investigated the feasibility of large-scale wind energy facilities in the Hill Country, and we applaud them for their decision . . . Complete story »
