Study: Bats killed at wind turbine site
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (The Associated Press) – Jun 6
A study of a Tucker County wind energy farm estimates as many as 2,900 bats were killed by the whirling blades during a six-week period last year. Between Aug. 1 and Sept. 13, 2004, researchers with the Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative found 765 dead bats on the ground at the Mountaineer Wind Energy Center’s 44 wind towers, a report summary released Sunday shows. Researchers estimate that as many as 2,900 bats were actually killed in that period, and many more before and after. Plans for another round of intense research are apparently on hold, according to a news release from the group’s scientists. “Based on 2004 findings, BWEC scientists recommend comparisons of feathered versus normally operated turbines during periods of low wind, the condition under which most bat mortality occurred,” researchers said in a statement. Turbines produce electricity only when the blades are turning. Owners can lose money from lost power any time blades are feathered, either as a safety measure in very high winds or for the proposed tests. That could raise the average price of wind power. Feathered turbine blades are turned parallel to the wind direction to keep them from spinning. “The goal is to measure exactly how much mortality can be prevented and at what cost to industry. To date, the BWEC has not been able to identify a project owner willing to host such experiments.” The cooperative was organized in late 2003 by FPL Energy, owners of the Tucker County wind farm, after an initial study at the Mountaineer site found the wind turbines killed an estimated 2,092 bats in the spring and late summer of 2003. Merlin Tuttle, the director of the nonprofit research group Bat Conservation International, called that the largest known bat kill in the world and possibly the largest mortality event of any animal. Cooperative members include representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Bat Conservation International and the American Wind Energy Association, the chief industry trade group. With public, private and industry funding, BWEC scientists planned three years of experiments to figure out why bats were colliding with wind turbines and to develop possible solutions. But after just one year of comprehensive research at the Mountaineer site and the Meyersdale Wind Energy Center in Pennsylvania, the industry is apparently trying to focus research on “solutions” or “deterrents.” Some sort of research will be done this summer, AWEA spokeswoman Laurie Jodziewicz said Sunday. “We’re still trying to put together what research will be done this year. We have some research planned, some solutions we want to test out.” Some will be done at sites where turbines are still planned, others at existing sites, she said. She declined to name specific sites, saying they are under negotiation.
