Wildlife Safe Wind Power

Wind Turbines on the Montana Prairie
© Barbara Cozzens/TNC

Harnessing the power of the wind holds great promise for a green and renewable source of energy. It also presents a serious challenge: How do we generate and transmit that power without serious collateral damage to nature?

Scientists at The Nature Conservancy in Montana have taken a pioneering step toward meeting that challenge. They have completed the first analysis of where wind generation facilities can be located in Montana with minimal risk to wildlife and the environment.

Montana ranks fifth in the nation for wind energy potential, but it’s also a haven for a bounty of wildlife – including animals found in few other places in the country. As we have come to discover, sometimes too late, wind turbines can pose serious threats to birds, important pollinators, as well as other species of concern. For example, studies in the mid Atlantic states have confirmed large incidents of bat mortalities as a result of wind farms. As the development of wind energy continues to increase, it's projected that by the year 2020, tens of thousands of bats will be killed every year due to wind facilities in that region alone.

But the footprint for wind facilities is far larger than the ground and airspace affected by the turbines alone. They require extensive road systems and transmission corridors – development that increases the potential impacts. In general each turbine requires 40 to 100 acres, so large-scale wind farms cover thousands of acres. And yet, wind energy development has moved forward with very little science-based analysis of these costs to nature.

The Conservancy study focused on 30 wildlife species that research suggests are susceptible to the impacts of wind development, including sage grouse, piping plover, a number of grassland birds, grizzly bear, as well as implications for antelope, mule deer, and elk. By overlaying wildlife habitat data with maps showing areas with the greatest wind energy potential, the study begins to paint a picture of where wind energy can be tapped with the least impact on resident wildlife.

Not surprisingly, the areas with the greatest promise and least environmental threat are those that have already undergone some fragmentation and development. Of the 17-million acres in Montana with high wind potential, more than 9-million acres appear to pose relatively low risk to resident wildlife. Of that, more than 4-million acres are already developed as cropland.

This study is just a first step. As Conservancy Science Director Brian Martin points out, “This analysis was based on resident and breeding species. Further study needs to be undertaken for wildlife such as migratory birds and bats.” Even so, it provides invaluable information for those designing policy that will guide the course of Montana’s energy future. A future that should focus on ending our dependence on fossil fuels, while preserving the natural health and bounty of this spectacular state. (Read the full report)