Interest continues to grow in the promise of ”green” power generated by wind. This has resulted in an increased number lawsuits surrounding the siting of wind turbines. Litigation may allege that the turbines constitute a public or private nuisance (mostly due to allegations of noise or light flicker) or that the use is not allowed in the particular zoning district. Lawsuits have also been initiated following the imposition of moratoria temporarily halting the granting of permits for wind turnines. For more information on the siting of wind turbines see, http://www.governmentlaw.org/files/ZLPR-Planning_Zoning_windpower.pdf and http://www.powernaturally.org/Programs/Wind/toolkit.asp?i=8 As the environmental community both supports green energy yet remains concerned about potential environmental impacts, guidance is being developed to most appropriately collect and review data. The following is an example of recent guidance developed by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.
Draft guidelines for conducting bird and bat studies at commercial wind energy projects have been published for comment by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). See, http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/drwindguide1207.pdf . Comments will be accepted through March 7, 2008.
According to DEC, New York’s wind resource has the potential to provide more than 5000 megawatts (MW) of clean energy. As of end of year 2007, six wind farms are operating with a rated capacity of 423 MW from 263 turbines in Madison, Wyoming, Lewis and Erie counties. Five other wind farms are under construction in Clinton, Wyoming and Steuben counties and will provide an additional 405 MW from 238 turbines when completed sometime in 2008. More than 30 additional wind farm siting proposals are actively undergoing environmental review by DEC biologists and environmental analysts.
As construction of wind turbines increases, bird and bat collisions with turbine towers and rotating blades potentially increases as well. The presence of spinning turbines may also induce behavioral changes in nesting or migrating birds, and in foraging bats. During the environmental review process, wind energy proposals must include assessments of the impacts the project could have on wildlife–especially birds and bats–and other natural resources. To date, these assessments have been completed on a case-by-case basis. The proposed guidelines, however, provide a standardized process for completing assessments, which both benefits project applicants and improves the quality of the information obtained about bird and bat populations.
The proposed guidelines are intended to inform potential wind developers of the information DEC needs about wind farm sites to assess impacts to birds and bats. The proposed guidelines outline DEC’s recommendations to commercial wind energy developers on how to characterize bird and bat resources at wind energy sites and how to document and estimate bird and bat mortality resulting from collisions with turbines. The protocols in the guidelines are intended to provide comparability of data collection among sites and between years so that the information from each site contributes to a statewide understanding of the ecological effects of wind energy generation. Protocols for both pre-construction studies and post-construction monitoring are included.
The guidelines were developed through a stakeholder process sponsored by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority which included industry representatives as well as bird and bat biologists from government agencies, academia and non-governmental environmental groups.
