Tom,
My agenda is to insure that the environmental tradeoffs associated with wind
development are recognized and fairly evaluated.
It seems to me that the benefits are very well known and that wind
development has plenty of outspoken advocates. Some, in fact, are so ardent
that they have no patience for any questions at all. It makes for a
difficult discussion.
I am fully aware of the problems associated with our coal-based energy
system. I have lived in the West Virginia "coal fields" and I have
first-hand knowledge of the environmental and human costs of coal mining.
For the last twenty years I have worked as a research scientist focused on
the effects of coal-related air pollution on central Appalachian streams and
forested mountain watersheds. Believe me, I've got the picture.
That said, I'm for preserving the integrity of what remains of our wild
county and natural landscapes. Birds need it and so do we.
The production and use of coal has indeed been environmentally egregious.
Let's not now compound the problem by throwing out the precautionary
principals that conservationist have worked so hard to establish.
If any industry can do it right, it should be the wind industry
Rick Webb
Monterey, Virginia
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Gray" <tomgray@xxxxxxx>
To: <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2003 7:46 PM
Subject: [va-bird] Re: windpower Post article
Thanks, Rick. Again, some good points, and I'm ready to set aside the"pen"
with respect to va-birds if you are.in
You ask:
> Is anyone really arguing that precaution
> is not warranted? Is anyone really arguing that adequate safeguards are
> place?anything
No, I can't argue that--mostly because I know very little about Virginia's
regulatory scheme. And certainly, caution is warranted to some degree.
I'm troubled, though, by the nature of your comments. I don't have
against regulation of wind, but I'd like to see it undertaken in a spiritbefore
of true
fairness. Such a spirit would acknowledge some things that I haven't seen
in your posts:
- Our current system of generating electricity is an ongoing environmental
disaster. Coal, the source of more than half our electricity, exacts huge
environmental costs at every step of its lifecycle, from the habitat
disruption and pollution that accompany mining to the air pollution,
greenhouse gases, and mercury from combustion to the habitat disruption
and pollution that accompany waste disposal.
- Global warming, caused in part by the fossil fuel combustion from which
we obtain ~70% of our electricity use, threatens habitat destruction on a
global scale and massive impacts on wildlife.
- Wind energy, notwithstanding its flaws, remains one of the cleanest and
least-damaging options we have for generating electricity. The task
us is not to prevent or slow it as much as we can, but to capture itsbenefits
while minimizing its direct impacts as far as reasonably possible.equally
You've defined the issues with wind pretty well. I hope that you are
willing to recognize its benefits.and
Regards,
Tom Gray
American Wind Energy Association
At 09:36 AM 12/28/2003 -0500, Rick Webb wrote:
Concerning the discussion about industrial-scale windpower development
lotavian impacts:
It is clear that well-intentioned people can reach different conclusions
about the potential problem. But all of us should agree that there is a
existingwe don't know.
Questions need to be raised about the adequacy and applicability of
tradeoffsresearch. Questions also need to be raised about the environmental
clearand whether wind development in Virginia can make a real difference in
relation to our ever-increasing consumption of electricity. And it's
awe cannot resolve all the issues in this forum. We need objective and
independent assessment.
Unfortunately, it looks like wind development in Virginia may proceed in
proceedregulatory vacuum. There is no state-level authority that will insure
effective pre-construction assessment and post-construction monitoring of
wind development. Local zoning ordinances were not written to address
industrial-scale wind energy projects, and rural zoning boards are not
equipped to deal with the issues.
Is there any reason to expect that wind development in Virginia will
federalslowly and cautiously? Hundreds of turbines are already slated for
construction in surrounding states, and when Congress approves the
theenergy bill, the renewal of tax credits and other incentives will drive
theprocess in Virginia. It has been reported that officials throughout
Virginia's mountain counties are receiving inquiries from wind energy
development companies. The Highland County Board of Supervisors alone has
been contacted by eight different companies. The company that proposes
that30-turbine project on Allegheny Mountain in Highland County indicates
region,the project will "catalyze" 900 mws of additional development in the
landscapei.e., 500-600 additional turbines from just one company.
We are facing dramatic change in much of Virginia's remaining wild
precautionand most-pristine wildlife habitat. Is anyone really arguing that
inis not warranted? Is anyone really arguing that adequate safeguards are
Mountains:place?
Rick Webb
Monterey, Virginia
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Gray" <tomgray@xxxxxxx>
To: <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2003 9:29 PM
Subject: [va-bird] Re: windpower Post article
Rick,
Good post, but I think I must pick a few nits (see below).
Regards,
Tom Gray
American Wind Energy Association
At 05:56 PM 12/27/2003 -0500, Rick Webb wrote:
William,
In response to your questions, this is what I understand concerning
potential avian impacts of wind development in the Appalachian
highpower
- Migrating birds and bats tend to be channeled along our north-south
oriented ridges in their twice yearly migrations. These are the same
locations where turbines are most favorably located for maximum wind
potential.
With regard to bats, I'll accept this, in view of the unexpectedly
(~500number
of bats killed at the new Mountaineer wind project in West Virginia
killedcarcasses found during this year's fall migration, actual numbers
alreadymay
be several times higher due to fact that carcasses are small, easilymissed by
searchers and easily scavenged). This is a serious issue that is
thebeing
researched.
With regard to birds, it is still a theory that is not supported by
valleysfatality
numbers from Mountaineer. Another theory is that many birds use
arefor
migration.than
- Modern turbines can be as high as 465 feet tall, including rotors
(blades). The blades sweep large areas at speeds that are much faster
birds or bats can detect.
Sentence #1 is correct, sentence #2 unproven.
- Although cell towers are associated with some bird mortality, they
beenwidely dispersed, they don't have whirling blades, and they have not
towersconcentrated on mountain ridges.
True. On the other hand, there are many, many more communications
tallinstalled around the U.S. than wind turbines, and their number isexpanding
faster. Also, most are guyed, and the length of guy wire expandsexponentially
with height--many researchers feel that the big kills associated with
flyingcommunications towers are partially the result of disoriented birds
flightaround them and colliding with the wires.attract
- Turbines must be lighted at night for aviation safety. Lights may
and disorient birds.
- Although much is not known about bird migration patterns and flight
levels, there are times, particularly during low cloud cover, when
whenelevation and turbine height coincide. This would be particularly so
turbinetower height and ridge height are combined.
- Wind development of the magnitude required to meet renewable energy
objectives will require many thousands of turbines, creating a
andturbinesgauntlet. For example, one pending project in WV will involve 200
along 12 miles of the Allegheny Front.
Whether "gauntlet" is an accurate characterization remains to be seen,
aviandepends to some degree on how accurate the theory about ridgeline
migration is.
- The new Mountaineer Wind Farm in WV provides recent examples of
afterimpacts in the Appalachian region, including 30+ birds found killed
ofone foggy night last August and 475 bats found killed over the summer
the2003. Total mortality may greatly exceed observed mortality due to
collection inefficiency and removal by scavengers.
Although there is much we don't know about the potential magnitude of
beimpact, we do know that the magnitude of wind energy development may
willvery
large. If this development is to proceed in a responsible manner, we
potentialnot throw caution to the wind. We will go slowly and study the
seenotherproblems carefully.
Rick Webb
Monterey, Virginia
This last is certainly sage counsel. Perhaps we could also keep a few
things in mind:
- Wind energy has been around for more than 20 years, and our country
now gets 0.4% of its electricity from wind. In general, we HAVE gone
extremely slow, although I realize that the last couple of years have
thata sudden flurry of proposals in Appalachia.
- In general, wind energy displaces electricity from other sources
aare
more damaging to birds and to the biosphere as well. I won't include
responsesrecital here, because I dislike being a "bully" by writing long
into
short messages. I'll just cite one reference, "The Environmental
Imperative for Renewable Energy: An Update" --it's on the Web and
anyone can find it using Google.
It is appropriate to insist that wind projects be designed and built
possible.such
a way as to minimize environmental impact as far as reasonably
sendHowever, the net environmental effect of wind projects is likely to be
strongly positive, even if there are some negative local impacts.
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