AWEA - American Wind Energy Association

Responsible siting of wind projects requires an understanding of interactions with permitting agencies, the public, wildlife, and surrounding land uses during each stage of a project's development and operation. The recent growth of the wind industry highlights the need for continued understanding of all siting-related issues and current research.

Wind Turbine Sound and Human Health

Wind power is a clean energy source that can provide communities with decreased greenhouse gas emissions, along with air quality improvements and corresponding human health benefits.  For more information, please see AWEA's Wind Turbines and Health and Utility Scale Wind Energy and Sound fact sheets.

In 2009, AWEA and the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA), established a multidisciplinary scientific advisory panel comprising medical doctors, audiologists, and acoustical professionals to conduct a review of current literature available on the issue of perceived health effects of wind turbines.  The panel's white paper, Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects: An Expert Panel Review (full report here, executive summary here), was released in December 2009.  Following review of current literature, the advisory panel concluded that there is no evidence the audible or sub-audible sounds emitted by wind turbines have any direct adverse physiological effects on humans. 

Wind Energy and Wildlife

Expanding the use of wind power is compatible with, and has minimal impacts on, wildlife or their habitats because wind power has none of the harmful emissions, water use, mining, drilling and hazardous waste of other energy sources. Even so, AWEA and the wind power industry are committed to reducing the environmental impacts associated with wind projects.  The wind industry has taken a systematic approach to identify potential impacts on birds, bats and other wildlife, and is proactively engaged in initiatives aimed at reducing, if not eliminating, those impacts. These efforts are described in AWEA's Wind Energy and Wildlife fact sheet.

AWEA Siting Handbook

The Wind Energy Siting Handbook was developed by the AWEA Siting Committee to inform wind energy developers and other interested parties about environmental siting issues relevant to land-based commercial-scale wind energy project development in the United States.  The handbook is designed to inform wind energy developers and other interested parties about environmental siting issues relevant to land-based commercial-scale wind energy project development in the United States.

Federal Siting Policies

The wind industry seeks prudent and reasonable policies and regulations that allow the industry to grow sustainably. Given the known benefits of wind energy development, the wind industry's impacts should be considered in context with other forms of energy production and treated accordingly during the policy-making process.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), as part of the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), has oversight of regulations governing the development of renewable energy projects on public lands, but their policies and regulations can also have direct impacts on development of private lands.  While the FWS' mission is to protect wildlife and their habitats, DOI has multiple missions, one of which is to promote renewable energy development on public lands. 

On February 8, 2011, FWS released two draft documents regarding the siting of wind turbines: Draft Voluntary, Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines and Draft Eagle Conservation Plan Guidance.  These guidance documents significantly deviate from the consensus recommendations that AWEA, along with states, wildlife conservation organizations, scientists, tribes, and federal officials, worked together to develop as part of a Federal Advisory Committee (FAC).   AWEA submitted comments on the Wind Energy Guidelines and comments on the Eagle Conservation Plan Guidance on May 19, 2011.  AWEA summarized its comments in this press release. 

FWS' February 2011 guidelines follow FWS' initial July 2003 interim guidelines for wind energy development on private land.  AWEA submitted comments on the initial interim guidelines in December 2003.

On July 12, 2011, FWS released another revised version of the Wind Energy Guidelines in response to the public comments received and held a day and a half meeting to get feedback from the Advisory Committee and the public. AWEA submitted comments on this revised version on August 4, 2011 and summarized those comments in this press release.

On September 23, 2011, AWEA again submitted comments on the latest and likely final revised draft of the Wind Energy Guidelines released by FWS on September 13. The latest comments lay out AWEA's position on several remaining key issues, many of which echo positions that were taken by the full Advisory Committee, including Committee representatives from the conservation community and states.

Bureau of Land Management
Wind energy projects proposed for land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) must follow BLM siting policies.  BLM maintains a wind energy policy web site, and has developed a number of documents related to wind energy, including a Wind Energy Development Policy Instruction Memorandum, a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), and a Record of Decision to Implement a Wind Energy Development Program.

U.S. Forest Service
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) can allow wind energy projects on Forest Service-managed lands through special use permits. On September 24, 2007, USFS released draft directives to guide wind development.  AWEA provided extensive comments on the draft directives in January 2008. 

Federal Aviation Administration
Depending on location, wind turbines may interfere with some types of civilian and military radar, causing "clutter" or other interference.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has legal jurisdiction over structures 200 feet tall and above. As utility scale turbines are 400 feet tall, or more, developers must submit an application to the FAA for each turbine for a hazard determination prior to construction.  Other federal agencies with radar assets, such as the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), are notified of proposed projects through the FAA process and have the opportunity to raise objections with the FAA on which a presumed hazard determination may be based.  The wind industry strongly supports responsible, effective actions designed to identify and address any potential conflicts with airspace and radar due to proposed wind farms.  More information is available in AWEA's Airspace, Radar and Wind Energy fact sheet.