Guidelines designed to reduce wind impacts on birds and bats

SACRAMENTO, California, US, April 11, 2007. Voluntary guidelines will provide information to reduce impacts on birds and bats from new windfarms or repowering of turbines in the state of California.

“Wind energy is expected to play a vital role in meeting California’s renewable energy goals, which require that 20% of the electricity sold in California come from renewable energy resources by 2010,” says a draft staff report from the California Energy Commission, ‘California Guidelines for Reducing Impacts to Birds and Bats from Wind Energy Development.’ The 159-page report includes recommendations on preliminary screening of proposed wind energy project sites; pre-permitting study design and methods; assessing direct and cumulative impacts to birds and bats in accordance with state and federal laws; developing avoidance and minimization measures; establishing appropriate compensatory mitigation; and post-construction operations monitoring and reporting methods.

The state wants to source 33% of its energy from renewables by 2020 but, as the state moves to achieve these renewable energy commitments, “it must also maintain and protect the state’s wildlife resources.” Specifically, wind energy development projects in California “must avoid, minimize and mitigate potential impacts to bird and bat populations” and the guidelines were developed to address these “coexisting and sometimes conflicting objectives.”

The document was developed by the CEC and the California Department of Fish & Game, flowing from a recommendation in the 2005 Integrated Energy Policy Report that CEC develop statewide protocols to address avian impacts from wind energy development. The document is a “science-based approach for assessing the potential impacts that a wind energy project may have on bird and bat species and includes suggested measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate identified impacts.”

CDFG and CEC “encourage the use of the guidelines for the biological assessment, mitigation, and monitoring of wind energy development projects and wind turbine repowering projects in California,” and the document is organised into five basic steps which are designed to be flexible to accommodate local and regional concerns. “The standardised protocols in the document are adaptable to address the specifics of each site such as frequency and type of bird and bat use, terrain, and availability of scientifically accepted data from nearby sources.”

“Under most circumstances, one year of pre-permitting surveys and two years of operations monitoring data collection are recommended,” although that should be longer or shorter to address specific conditions at a project site. The guidelines do not duplicate or supersede statutes under the Endangered Species or other legal requirements, but following the document is important for compliance with wildlife laws and “will facilitate the issuance of required permits for a project, providing a measure of regulatory certainty for wind energy developers.”

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