Avian Issues in Land-Based Wind

Environmental Business Council May 29, 2008

“I honestly beleave it iz better tew know nothing than two know what ain’t so”

Josh Billings, 19th C

Wind Energy and Birds

• Endangered Species Act• Migratory Bird Treaty• US DOI Wind Turbine Advisory

Committee – (http://www.fws.gov/habitatconservation/

windpower/wind_turbine_advisory_committee.html)

Population trends of U.S. breeding species Data are from the 415 native species

with adequate BBS sample sizes for analysis

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

% o

f spe

cies Sig. Incr.

IncreaseDecreaseSig. Decr.

From: Greg Butcher, National Audubon, State of the Birds USA presentation 2004

What Can Happen in 50 Years?

1943 1996

Courtesy of AMC

Vivian Stockman, May 30, 2003

A “typical” mine encompasses 1,000 – 4000 acres of ridge line during the mine’s lifetime

EPA 2003 MTRVF PEIS

Mountain Top Mining West Virginia

2003 Buzzard’s Bay Oil Spill(San Francisco, Black Sea 2007)

Wind Energy Birds(and Bats) Possible Impacts

(NAS 2007)

• Habitat destruction and fragmentation

• Habitat displacement• Collision mortality• None of these are unique to wind,

but differ by degree, perhaps

Bird Fatalities at Wind Turbines(NRC 2007, Jain et al. 2007*)

Region Number of Turbines

Birds per MW per year

Raptors per MW per year

Buffalo Mtn, TN 3 11.67 0

Buffalo Ridge, MN 73-143 3.03 – 5.93 0 – 0.04

Foote Creek Rim, WY 33-72 1.99 – 2.50 0.05 – 0.06

Mountaineer, WV 44 2.69 0.02

Oregon (3) 16 - 41 0.95 – 2.56 0

Top of Iowa 89 1.44 0.01

Bat Fatalities at Wind Turbines(Kunz et al. 2007, Jain et al. 2007*)

Region Number of Turbines

Fatalities per MW year

Buffalo Mtn, TN 3 31.5 – 41.1

Buffalo Ridge, MN 73 – 143 0.8 – 2.9

Foote Creek Rim, WY 33 – 72 2.0

Mountaineer, WV 44 25.3 – 32.0

Oregon (3) 16 – 181 0.63 – 3.59

Top of Iowa 89 8.6

Maple Ridge, Lewis County, NY(195, 1.65 MW Turbines)

Maple Ridge, NY2006 (per MW)

Frequency Bird Incidents Bat Incidents

Daily* 5.81 14.87

Every 3 days 2.71 13.54

Weekly 1.90 9.21

*Golden-crowned Kinglets: 29 – 43% of observations!!!Most birds found at one turbine = 9

Sources of Bird Mortality(Erickson, et al. 2001; NRC 2007)

• Communications Towers – 4 million to 50 million

• Buildings and Windows – 98 million to 980 million

• Vehicles – 60 million to 80 million• Cats – 8 million to 220 million (rural cats)• Wind Turbines – 10,000 to 40,000 (3.1 birds

per MW installed capacity; 0.003% of all sources of human-caused avian mortality)

• Estimated 10 – 20 billion land birds in North America

Mean number of birds found under communication towers

Mea

n nu

mbe

r of

bir

ds

0

10

20

30

40

50

Bird MortalityAndCommunicationTowers

Michigan Spring 2005Joelle Gehring

Potential Collision Mortality

• Current estimate = 3.1 birds per MW installed capacity (NRC, 2007)

• 1 MW installed generates 2.4 – 3 million kWh per year (AWEA)

• Massachusetts 2000 electricity = 52,663 million kWh (U. S. Census Bureau)

• If 100% from wind, ~53,000-66,000 birds/year• Mostly passerines, except corvids –

significance depends on species, e.g., raptors, state-listed species

Needs and Challenges. I

• Defining preconstruction site assessments – identify risk factors

• Cumulative and population-level impacts– Collision mortality – Habitat loss/displacement– Defining thresholds – what is unacceptable?

• Project Size –single turbine versus utility scale projects

Needs and Challenges. II

• Adaptive Management – opportunities for learning– Post-construction monitoring– BACI (before-after control investigations)

• Bats – test several hypotheses explaining high bat mortality

• American Wind and Wildlife Institute (AWWI)

Closing

• All energy use has an impact• Increase energy conservation and energy

efficiency – reduce fossil fuel use• Increase use of renewable energy including

wind• Site wind projects to minimize environmental

impact – reduce resolvable uncertainty