Wind Power and the Environment

by Mike Shelton, Assistant Director of Government Relations

We have seen them along highways and coastlines. Massive structures that seem out of place, one next to each other. They are wind power turbines. Modern wind power turbines can have wingspans wider than a 747 jet and be taller than a 33 story building. How effective are these creatures and what positive and negative effects do they have on the environment?

Overall, wind power generates less than one percent of the nation’s current electricity needs. However, wind is the fastest growing type of electricity generation and has the potential for much more generating capacity. This is particularly true along the nation’s windy coastlines, including Lake Erie, specifically in the Lake’s western basin. Proposals exist for up to 2,000 new wind turbines in Ottawa County alone.

This is encouraging news for a number of reasons. First, as the nation works to meet its energy needs, wind power provides a source that does not emit the greenhouse gases responsible for climate change. Climate change, a recognized global threat to species and habitats, has the potential to significantly alter landscapes the Conservancy is currently working to protect. If we are to seriously abate the effects of climate change, we need to increase energy production from zero and near-zero emission technologies.

Secondly, as the wind energy sector grows, so does the demand for the production of its mechanical components. For a state like Ohio, this could mean a resurgence in the manufacturing industry. A 2003 study by the Ohio Clean Energy Business Association found that Ohio could gain as many as 26,000 new jobs and $2.6 billion of increased economic impact by 2010 from clean energy firms, including those that build wind power components.

Finally, wind turbines can supplement a landowner’s income. Typically, a wind power lease amounts to about $2,000 per turbine per year. If located on farms, wind power leases can help landowners afford to continue farming, rather than selling their lands for higher impact uses like new home development.

Despite these strong positives, wind energy does have direct and indirect impacts upon wildlife and habitat. Unfortunately, birds and bats fly into the spinning blades of a wind turbine. These direct kills happen more often during migratory seasons, at night, and during heavy weather events that force lower flying patterns. However, not enough study has been conducted at enough wind power sites to draw any concrete conclusions or solutions.

The impact these kills have on the overall populations of avian species is also unknown. All tall structures, such as office buildings and cell phone towers, produce direct kills. What sets wind power apart, though, is that the greatest potential for power production is generally in the strong winds of migratory paths.

Thinking hemispherically, how many wind development projects are feasible along the migratory path before avian populations are no longer sustainable? Does it matter if all the projects along the path do a superb job locating wind projects to avoid migratory species, if one or a couple projects are poorly sited? Again, nobody knows, and it is a difficult issue to study given the international scale.

In fact, because of their size, and thus striking visibility, wind turbines pose a special problem for species adapted to avoid tall structures that resemble a perch for predators.

This was the case in Oklahoma for the lesser prairie chicken. To prevent the threatened bird species from abandoning significant portions of its already declining habitat, The Nature Conservancy’s Oklahoma Chapter began working with the wind industry on mapping areas the industry could avoid for habitat consideration while still accessing the state’s strong wind resources.

A similar effort is afoot in Ohio. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Reynoldsburg Ecological Service Office and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources have mapped critical areas for the wind industry to avoid. These areas are primarily known as migratory routes or near federally threatened and endangered avian species.

For the foreseeable future, however, this mapping effort will only serve as a suggestion. Wind development is still a fledgling industry and government has not caught up to the technology’s growth. There is no established regulatory authority for the industry. In Ohio, the state’s Public Utilities Commission does not regulate any activity generating less than 50 megawatts of power. Since currently available wind turbines produce up to 1.5 megawatts, a savvy entrepreneur can avoid regulation by keeping each development to 33 turbines or less.

The potential that wind power presents is tremendous. The Nature Conservancy will work collaboratively with its agency partners, elected officials, and the industry to harness that potential into real results, in a way that creates the least amount of impact to habitat and species of concern. With proper site selection, ecological study, and adaptive management, wind power can be a strong asset in the nation’s quest to provide energy needs without further impacting the globe’s climate.

Resources:

The Nature Conservancy’s Climate Change Program. http://nature.org
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Great Lakes Ecosystem Team. http://www.fws.gov/midwest/greatlakes/
Green Energy Ohio/Ohio Clean Energy Business Association. http://www.greenenergyohio.org
U.S. Department of Energy’s National Wind Technology Center. http://www.nrel.gov/wind/