Calif. company pulls plug on wind farm, citing risk to birds

[XemaSab]

A San Francisco company said it has abandoned plans for a large-scale wind farm near Winters because the turbines could have harmed golden eagles, bald eagles and other local bird species.

Pattern Energy Group LP said the 100-megawatt project would have provided enough energy to light about 44,000 homes and would have created as many as 200 construction jobs.

But the company said Tuesday it decided to shelve the 2,000-acre project due to concerns about the potential impact to the local bird population.

"This would have been a strong source of wind power for California, which needs more renewable energy, but the right thing to do is abandon this project," said company CEO Mike Garland.



Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/23/4075387/calif-company-pulls-plug-on-wind.html#ixzz1elAjA3iZ

[Vincardog]

1. In a related story they are also going to outlaw cars and trucks.

[tabatha]

4. There was no law involved.

Just a company free market decision.

[tabatha]

2. Wow, some sanity in one place.

Well done.

[zbdent]

3. I think that some people use this as an excuse ... and that some birds are much smarter

than a lot of people ...

Of course, some eagles don't realize that premature ejaculation could save two lives ...

[tabatha]

5. Lot of thinking going on there.

How about some facts - all of these projects are done with environmental impact studies.

[ixion]

6. rather than scrap the whole idea, they should have designed bird-friendly

turbines.

[ZombieHorde]

7. I agree. nt

[kristopher]

9. That has already been done.

The biggest change was discarding the lattice tower, where both raptors and their prey liked to nest, and use a tubular tower. Beyond that siting studies are the best defense. In the big picture we have no shortage of good wind sites, so prudence is not some sort of huge ecological trade off.

[avaistheone1]

14. You are correct. Bird safe wind towers are currently on the market.

K&R

:kick:

[BlueToTheBone]

8. Wow. A company with integrity. The Earth before Profits.

There are other less damaging places for the towers and Eagles are too incredible to kill for profit. Conservation will make up for the loss maybe. Given a chance, most people on the coast would rather have the eagles and would gladly do something else.

I know those people will sleep well.

[Booster]

10. That was my 1st thought - how about Death Valley? May be a

stupid question because I know absolutely nothing about Death Valley, but I wouldn't think there would be a whole lot of birds in that area - course there may not be a whole lot of wind either, and the things might just melt.

[BlueToTheBone]

13. Indeed the desert is rushed by the wind.

There are many wind farms and they are a sight to see. If I knew how to post my own pictures, I'd show you some during one of my drives. But, google is your friend.

But, there does need to be a new and better design for wind because bird slaughter is a real problem.

[XemaSab]

16. The whole "National Park" thing would pose a problem

:D

[Booster]

11. I also meant to give the company credit for their decision. I think

it's a good one.

[liberal N proud]

12. Maybe they can invest in fracking

There is no harm the environment with that!


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[mysuzuki2]

15. wind power can be a ecologically friendly source of power. However, you have to be very careful

where you put the towers and turbines. There is a big wind farm near Horicon Marsh in Wisconsin. This is a very major flyway for migrating waterfowl and other birds. The turbines nearest the marsh had the highest avian mortality rate as one might expect. However those located a half mile away had a mortality rate of only about 1 bird per turbine per year. This can probably be tolerated by the bird populations. Anyway, with care, planning and some common sense, wind towers should be supported.