Wind Energy

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Turbines Slated for Lake Erie in Migratory Path of Endangered Bird

Ohio's Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) and American Bird Conservancy (ABC) are challenging an industry-supported environmental assessment of Lake Erie's first offshore wind project, citing numerous inadequacies in both science and process.

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Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Wind Turbines Around the Great Lakes? A Terrible Idea for Birds, Bats

A recent op-ed by American Bird Conservancy appearing in The Chicago Tribune contends that the Great Lakes are one of the worst possible places to place power-generating wind turbines.

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Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Interior Auctions 122,000 Acres Offshore NC for Wind Energy

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Acting Director Walter Cruickshank this week announced the completion of the nation's seventh competitive lease sale for renewable wind energy in federal waters offshore Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

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Wednesday, January 18, 2017

122,000 Acres Offshore NC for Wind Energy Development

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Acting Director Walter Cruickshank announced that 122,405 acres offshore Kitty Hawk, North Carolina will be offered in a commercial wind lease sale on March 16, 2017.

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Wednesday, December 14, 2016

USFWS Examines Eagle Conservation Measures for Wyoming Wind Project

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) analyzing alternatives for protecting eagles at the Power Company of Wyoming's (PCW) Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Phase I Wind Energy Project (CCSM) south of Rawlins.

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Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Block Island Wind Farm Power On

Deepwater Wind announced Dec. 12 that its Block Island Wind Farm 13 miles from the mainland of Rhode Island has begun producing power -- the first offshore wind power project in America, according to the National Wildlife Federation.

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Wednesday, November 30, 2016

EIA: 3 Turbine Manufacturers Provide 75% of US Wind Capacity

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported this week that as of the end of 2015, just three manufacturers — General Electric (GE), Vestas, and Siemens — accounted for 55 gigawatts (GW), or 76%, of installed wind generating capacity in the United States.

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Wednesday, November 9, 2016

FWS to Issue Eagle 'Take Permit' for Wind Project

For only the second time in history, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will issue a five-year "take permit" to an energy company after determining the company's wind project will have no significant impact on golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), the Wildlife Society Reports.

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Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Interior Dept. to Auction 79,000 Acres Offshore New York

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Ross Hopper announced Oct. 27 that 79,350 acres offshore New York will be offered in a December 15 commercial wind lease sale.

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Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Poll: Public Wants More Protection of Birds from Wind Farms

According to a poll released this week by the National Audubon Society, 65 percent of registered voters would support regulations requiring wind farms to minimize harm to birds including Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles.

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Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Administration Proposes Lease Sale of 122.405 Offshore NC Acres

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Ross Hopper this week announced a proposed lease sale for 122,405 acres offshore North Carolina for commercial wind energy leasing.

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Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Study: Great Lakes Wind Turbines Threaten Migratory Birds

A radar study released last month by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) provides stark evidence that wind turbines on the Great Lakes pose an unacceptably high risk to migratory birds and other wildlife.

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Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Group: Bald and Golden Eagles May Be Threatened by Wind Industry Developers

A new eagle-management plan proposed by the federal government would give wind energy developers 30-year permits to "take" or incidentally kill protected Bald and Golden Eagles, without requiring the industry to share mortality data with the public or take into consideration such critical factors as proper siting.

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Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Study: Making Better Predictions of Eagle Fatalities

To help conserve eagles and help make developers more aware of the effects of wind energy facilities on the birds, researchers recently helped update a model to predict eagle fatalities at wind energy sites.

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Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Interior Proposes 81,000-acre NY Offshore Wind Lease Sale

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell on June 2 announced the proposed lease sale for 81,130 acres offshore New York — approximately 11 miles south of Long Island — for commercial wind energy leasing.

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Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Journal Issue Explores Wind Energy's Effects on Wildlife

Are wind energy and wildlife compatible? The Spring 2016 edition of the peer-reviewed journal Human-Wildlife Interactions tackles that question with seven articles written by 20 experts.

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Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Group Names Worst-sited Wind Energy Projects for Birds

As the hunger for alternative energy grows, American Bird Conservancy (ABC) has released a list of 10 of the worst-sited existing and proposed commercial wind energy projects from the perspective of bird conservation.

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Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Interior Takes First Step to Develop Wind Energy Offshore SC

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Ross Hopper have announced a major step in spurring wind energy development in federal waters offshore South Carolina.

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Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Wind Turbine Construction Could Damage Seals' Hearing

Offshore wind turbine construction may be too loud for seals to handle, according to new research recently published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

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Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Report: More Than 30,000 Wind Turbines Installed in Sensitive Bird Habitat

New research supported by American Bird Conservancy (ABC) shows that more than 30,000 wind turbines have been installed in areas critical to the survival of federally-protected birds in the United States and that more than 50,000 additional turbines are planned for construction in similar areas.

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