GLIN==> New report: An Assessment of Research on the Ecological Impacts of Wind Energy in the Great Lakes Region

 New research shows relatively few bird and bat deaths from wind turbines


Mortality rates for birds flying into the turbines of Great Lakes wind farms
vary, but are generally low, according to a recently completed analysis of
wind energy impacts on birds, bats, fisheries and wildlife.

The report by the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative (GLWC) reviewed data from a
number of wind turbine sites in the Great Lakes region and found mortality
rates for songbirds ranging from 2.5 bird deaths per year per turbine at an
Ontario, Canada site to 11.8 at a Wisconsin site. Additional research on
raptors and waterfowl found them to be less prone to turbine collisions than
songbirds, while bat mortality was very similar to songbirds, ranging from
two to 11 bat deaths a year per turbine.

The report, State of the Science: An Assessment of Research on the
Ecological Impacts of Wind Energy in the Great Lakes Region, was compiled
from research presented at a GLWC-sponsored workshop. Wind turbine impacts
on wildlife, particularly birds and bats, have figured prominently in the
public discussion of wind energy and the siting of wind farms. While the
information collected for the new report adds to the science of wind energy
impacts, the report also identified several data gaps to be filled. Impacts
of offshore wind turbines in the Great Lakes, for instance, can only be
theorized as there are no offshore wind farms in the Lakes as yet.

"This compilation of the current state of knowledge is intended to give a
head start to all parties dealing with these issues, and to help them make
well-informed decisions in the real world," said Steve Ugoretz, past
co-chair of the GLWC Siting and Planning Workgroup.

Priorities for research going forward, as laid out by the report, include
more data on the effects of wind farms on migratory corridors, establishment
of ecologically defensible mortality thresholds and setbacks, and research
on potential impacts from artificial reef habitat creation for offshore
installations.

As more data on wind energy impacts is accumulated, according to the report,
the policy issues that will emerge include such questions as: What are
acceptable levels of mortality caused by a wind turbine for a particular
species, and what are appropriate buffers from important ecological areas?

Said Jeff Gosse, Hydro & Wind Power Coordinator of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and co-chair of the GLWC Siting and Planning Workgroup,
"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service supports the development of renewable
energy, including wind power. Our objective is to ensure that such
development is ecologically sustainable, with minimal impact to wildlife
resources such as birds and bats, and in the case of offshore development,
fish. This report is a critical milestone toward achieving that objective in
the Great Lakes Region." 

The full report is available from the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative web
site at
http://www.glc.org/energy/wind/sosworkshop/pdf/Scientific-Assessment-Report-
final.pdf.

Contact: Becky Pearson, 734-971-9135, bpearson at glc.org

####

The Great Lakes Wind Collaborative is a multi-sector coalition of wind
energy stakeholders working to facilitate the sustainable development of
wind power in the binational Great Lakes region. For more information on the
Collaborative, visit http://www.glc.org/energy/wind/.







Rebecca Pearson
Project Manager
Great Lakes Commission 
2805 South Industrial Highway, Suite 100
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
p: 734.971.9135 = f: 734.971.9150 = e: bpearson at glc.org


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