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Wind Power News: Wildlife
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.
Wind farm plan in Hokkaido called threat to endangered fish
Environmental groups are demanding the suspension of a wind power plant project in Hokkaido, saying it could devastate the population of “ito” (Japanese huchen), an endangered species of salmonid freshwater fish. The Environment Ministry has also cited the need for major revisions to the project. Japan Renewable Energy Corp. (JRE), a Tokyo-based company affiliated with Eneos Corp., a major oil company, is in charge of the wind power project. JRE has indicated it is open to changes. “We are aware . . . Complete story »
New bird and butterfly survey threatens wind project proposal
Significant additional information, including a new survey on the endangered Marsh Fritillary butterfly, has been submitted to An Bord Pleanála in relation to a planning application for a proposed 26 turbine wind farm in the Ballivor Bog Group. Bord na Mona Powergen Limited is seeking a ten-year planning permission for the wind farm on the Meath/Westmeath border which would be operational for 30 years from the date of commissioning. The application is a strategic infrastructure development (SID) which means it . . . Complete story »
Blown away: almost 70% of animals displaced from homes by wind-power developments
Wildlife and wind turbines are an uncomfortable mix. Rotating turbine blades can make short work of anything unlucky enough to collide with them, but direct mortality is only part of the story. Having reviewed the available evidence from around the world, biologists in Finland have found that 63 per cent of bird species, 72 per cent of bats and 67 per cent of terrestrial mammals are displaced from areas where turbines are installed. Some of the most pronounced effects were . . . Complete story »
New bid to scuttle Robbins Island wind farm looks headed for Supreme Court
A new bid to scuttle the controversial Robbins Island wind farm proposal is headed for the Supreme Court. The appeal from long-time project opponent the Circular Head Coastal Awareness Network is against the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal’s recent decision to approve the wind farm. TasCAT overrode a state Environment Protection Authority condition that would have forced proponent ACEN to shut down the turbines for five months a year to protect endangered orange-bellied parrots. ACEN said that would make the . . . Complete story »
Wind farm legal action launched over wildcat fears
Plans for a new wind farm in Aberdeenshire are set to be challenged in court following concerns over the protection of wildcats. Swedish energy giant Vattenfall received the go-ahead to build a second site at Clashindarroch last year. However, conservation group Wildcat Haven believes it could endanger the local wildcat population. It has now pursued a judicial review over the approval granted by Scottish ministers. Vattenfall’s 14-turbine Clashindarroch II wind farm was approved by Scottish ministers in June last year. . . . Complete story »
Scottish wildcats: Aberdeen wind farm decision goes to judicial review
A decision by Scottish Ministers to grant planning permission for a wind farm on the habitat of an endangered species is to be challenged in a judicial review. Wildcat Haven has raised almost £250,000 through donations in four years, which is how it is funding the legal fight. Its petition to save the Clashindarroch Forest in Aberdeenshire for wildcats has racked up over one million signatures. An application for a wind farm on the site was made by Swedish company . . . Complete story »
‘Windparken verstoren groei plankton en daarmee voedselketen op de Noordzee’
[Offshore wind turbines disrupt plankton growth and thus the food chain in the North Sea – There are also the effects of power cables on sharks’ and rays’ embryos, bird collisions and obstacles, and the sound of pile-driving to install thousands of new turbines.] Windturbines lijken de groei van plankton te verstoren in bepaalde gebieden op de Noordzee. Dat vormt een risico voor de voedselketen op zee. Die waarschuwing uiten onderzoekers zaterdagavond in een uitzending van wetenschapsprogramma Focus op NPO 2. . . . Complete story »
Forest bats displaced from large area around wind turbines
Not only do many bats die at wind turbines, the turbines also displace some species from their habitats over large areas. When the turbines are in operation at relatively high wind speeds, the activity of bat species that hunt in structurally dense habitats such as forests drops by almost 80% within a radius of 80 to 450 meters around the turbine. This is the result of a scientific investigation led by scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife . . . Complete story »
Gone with the wind: Why wind farms in Polonyna Borzhava threaten to harm both nature and humans
A polonyna is an alpine meadow unique to the high slopes and rolling ridge tops typical of the Carpathian mountains. From a bird’s-eye view, Polonyna Borzhava in Transcarpathia is shaped like a bird. One wing points northwest towards Volovets, the other southeast towards Mizhhiria, and it has a head and a tail. Borzhava has an abundance of air. Mountaineers and lovers of the great outdoors from across Ukraine come here all year round to breathe it in. Borzhava is perfect . . . Complete story »
Eight Golden Eagles killed at wind farm near Great Basin Park
Nevada’s first wind energy project, Spring Valley Wind, was built on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands adjacent to Great Basin National Park in a sensitive location for wildlife. Eight golden eagles are known to have been killed at the project, along with many other species of birds since its approval in 2011. Recently obtained FOIA documents show the last 6 eagle kills, which have all gone undetected by the news media and environmental organizations. These 6 eagle deaths, were . . . Complete story »