Gearing Up Altamont-and Protecting Birds

摘要

Research findings are "sufficiently robust" for the wind industry to begin repowering with larger turbines in safer locations, or implementing measures to avoid or reduce bird deaths at Altamont Pass, according to a consultant's report for the California Energy Commission. The 520-page report, "Developing Methods to Reduce Bird Mortality in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area," is available on the Energy Commission's Website at: www.energy.ca.gov/pier/ reports/500-04-052 .html The report was released in early August by the Energy Commission and documents the results of a four-year study to address causal relationships between wind turbines and bird mortality in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area and to determine measures that could be implemented to reduce the incidence of bird collisions. Funded by the Commission's Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program, the study was conducted by BioResource Consultants from Ojai, California. There's heightened urgency to resolve the environmental concerns, says the report, since it can be a hindrance to California's goal of producing 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, including wind, by 2010. That's because Alameda County will not allow permits to increase electrical production at Altamont beyond the existing 584-megawatt capacity "until there is demonstrated progress toward" reducing bird kills. Overall wind turbines in California have an installed generating capacity of 2,000 megawatts, including 800 megawatts at the Altamont Pass.