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Statement by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) on Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on wind energy and wildlife
Many fewer birds fly into wind turbines than is generally thought, and more research is needed to assess the possible impacts of wind turbines on both birds and bats, according to a new report released today by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the possible impacts of wind energy development on wildlife. Although several hundred utility-scale wind farms currently operate across the country such problems remain limited to two project areas, according to the report. . “In the context of other sources of avian [mortality], it does not appear that wind power is responsible for a significant number of bird deaths,” the report states in its conclusion (page 43). The GAO report, requested by Congressmen Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va) and Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), exhaustively and impartially surveyed data from the Appalachian region and around the country. Its authors also visited several sites and interviewed expert sources. The findings show that wind projects normally do not significantly impact birds. The report also confirms that while the numbers of bats flying into wind turbines at some locations in Appalachia raise concern and remain unexplained, more data is needed and will be coming from the research program that AWEA, individual wind energy companies, Bat Conservation International, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other stakeholder groups launched as soon as the problem was discovered. “The report confirms what the data has shown for a long time, and that is that many fewer birds fly into wind turbines than into other manmade structures such as buildings, radio towers, and vehicles,” said AWEA executive director Randall Swisher. “The report also shows that we need to learn more about wind-bat interactions, an issue about which the industry remains concerned even if further research eventually shows that the impact on bat populations is not significant. The industry believes that bats and wind turbines can and must coexist, and is working with stakeholder groups and experts to understand the issue and try to find ways to avoid or at least reduce collisions. “The wind energy industry welcomes scrutiny of, and comparison with, all of the impacts of all sources of power generation,” added Swisher. “We have nothing to hide. We hope that lawmakers and consumers concerned about impacts of energy use – as well they should be -- will also call for detailed studies on the impacts of other operating or proposed power plants in the region. Wind energy produces no air pollution, no water pollution, no global warming pollution, and no waste, and it requires no mining or drilling for fuel. Despite its modest impacts, the more it is used instead of fossil fuels, the better for the environment and for consumers.” Online copies of the report are available on the GAO Web site at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05906.pdf . AWEA, formed in 1974, is the national trade association of the U.S. wind energy industry. ### |
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© 2005 by the American Wind Energy Association. |
