Wind Power News: Wildlife
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch 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.
Wind farms in the Black Sea coast region could have a negative impact on bat populations in large parts of Eastern Europe
The Via Pontica, an important migration route for birds in Eastern Europe, runs along the Black Sea coast of Romania and Bulgaria. Bats also use this route. In this region, numerous wind farms have been installed in recent years because of good wind conditions, but there has been little implementation of the legally required measures for the protection of bats. A Romanian research team cooperated with the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) in Berlin to demonstrate that . . . Complete story »
Bald eagle killed by wind turbine at Wood County site
BOWLING GREEN – As they labored trying to start a broken down truck near the north end of the Wood County Landfill, Ken Vollmar, superintendent of the facility, and one of his employees felt the bite of the winter chill. Their cold hands had their attention as one of the four wind turbines located at the site spun nearby. But then they heard a loud thump and turned to witness a large bird tumbling to the frozen ground. What they soon . . . Complete story »
Risk to wedge-tailed eagles raised in deer cull plan at Cattle Hill wind farm
Concerns have been raised over a planned deer cull at the Cattle Hill wind farm and its potential to heighten risk to wedge-tailed eagles. The Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment recently issued crop protection permits for the property on which the wind farm is located. A department spokeswoman said the permits authorised the taking of up to one hundred immature male fallow deer and an unspecified number of antlerless fallow deer on the property. “We are advised . . . Complete story »
Seeadler und Turmfalke von Windkraftanlage in Holtsee erschlagen
[Sea eagle and kestrel slain by wind turbine in Holtsee (translate article to English)] Der Anruf kam gegen 9.30 Uhr. Ein Spaziergänger hatte einen Seeadler unter einer Windkraftanlage in Holtsee entdeckt. Ich fuhr umgehend zur Fundstelle. Unter der Windkraftanlage lag ein verendeter Turmfalke, welcher offen sichtlich in ein Rotorblatt geraten war. Er war bereits berupft. Es ist wahrscheinlich, dass der Seeadler den verendeten Turmfalken als Aas entdeckt hat. Dies wurde ihm zum Verhängnis. Ob der Adler beim An- oder Abflug erfasst . . . Complete story »
Wind farm shuts down turbines to protect birds and bats
A wind farm in the province of Zeeland is the first to fit a system to switch off turbines automatically to guarantee the safety of nearby birds and bats, Omroep Zeeland reports. Wind farm Krammer is situated near the Krammersluizen in the middle of three Natura 2000 protected nature reserves. A number of the park’s 34 turbines have been fitted with cameras, microphones and loudspeakers, and mainly cover the area where the rare sea eagle hunts and breeds. If the . . . Complete story »
Years later, Deerfield Wind impact on bear habitat in question
MONTPELIER – In testimony given to lawmakers Thursday at the Statehouse, representatives of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department said the 30-megawatt, 15-turbine Deerfield Wind Farm on Green Mountain National Forest land has affected the habitat of black bears in that region. That message, offered to House Committee on Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife, was a portion of hearings regarding a rewrite of Act 250, Vermont’s land use law that was designed to keep the state rural and environmentally friendly, but . . . Complete story »
Bird-strike fears raised over plan for offshore wind farm in Kyushu
KITA-KYUSHU—Collisions with the propellers of windmills at a planned offshore wind power plant could further reduce populations of rare birds on islands here, the Wild Bird Society of Japan warns. The society in November submitted a set of recommendations to the Kita-Kyushu city government, calling for a review of the project planned by wind farm operator Glocal Corp. According to the plans of Glocal, a contractor based in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, two 6-megawatt windmills will be set up several hundred . . . Complete story »
Bald eagles fly into turbulent wind farm debate
REPUBLIC, Ohio – Some property owners and residents in Seneca, Sandusky, Huron, and Erie counties have challenged the proposed introduction of huge wind turbines near their homes, citing the degradation of the rural landscape that attracted them to the country in the first place. In their protracted legal and public relations battle with wind energy companies based out of state, the rural folk have also called into question the uncertainty over health risks associated with long-term exposure to the flicker created . . . Complete story »
Professor: Many of Indiana’s bats are ‘dropping like flies’
Unfortunately, migratory bats are being killed by what Carter calls "wildlife in a blender," or wind turbines. "People call this green energy," he said recently to a crowd of bird lovers at Kennedy Library. "I call it red energy. I call them all kinds of terrible things." Not meaning to downplay the threat of wind farms to birds, but bird mortality at a wind farm is measured in dozens or hundreds, Carter said, while bat fatalities are measured in the thousands. "A single wind farm can kill 4,000 bats in a single season," he said. The 150-foot-long blade of a wind turbine might not look like it's moving fast, but on a windy day, it can complete one revolution in four seconds, which equates to the tip of the blade traveling more than 200 mph. Complete story »
New wind turbines could be harming thousands of endangered bird populations, says RSPB
Wind farms installed offshore to tackle climate change are actually threatening thousands of endangered seabirds around the UK, according to the RSPB. The bird charity says new wind farms could be the ‘final nail in the coffin’ for more than 1,000 birds across four of the most threatened species. Many of these birds feed on fish at sandbanks, where developers prefer to build offshore wind turbines. There are more than 15 proposed UK offshore wind farms, which tend to be . . . Complete story »
