Wyoming Wind Farm Pleads Guilty to Eagle Deaths, Pays $1 Million.

[NNadir]

The case against Duke Energy and Duke Energy Renewables Inc. was the first prosecuted under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act against a wind energy company. The Obama administration has championed pollution-free wind power and used the same law against oil companies and power companies for drowning and electrocuting birds.

"In this plea agreement, Duke Energy Renewables acknowledges that it constructed these wind projects in a manner it knew beforehand would likely result in avian deaths," Robert G. Dreher, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division, said in a statement.

Duke has a market capitalization of nearly $50 billion.

"We deeply regret the impacts of golden eagles at two of our wind facilities," Greg Wolf, president of Duke Energy Renewables, said in a statement. "Our goal is to provide the benefits of wind energy in the most environmentally responsible way possible."

A study in September by federal biologists found that wind turbines had killed at least 67 bald and golden eagles since 2008. Wyoming had the most eagle deaths. That did not include deaths at Altamont Pass, an area in northern California where wind farms kill an estimated 60 eagles a year.

http://news.yahoo.com/guilty-plea-bird-deaths-wind-farms-first-081651963--finance.html

It's not clear whether bird deaths, the entrenchment of dangerous natural gas or the tragedy of very dangerous practices in China's lanthanide mines are the worst impact of this expensive and meaningless wind energy fantasy, but one might easily imagine several major threatened species going extinct as more and more pristine landscape is contaminated with these greasy next to useless whirlygigs.

[GKirk]

1. Is there something different

that they could do to limit the number of deaths? If not it seems unfair to fine them.

[grahamhgreen]

2. Causes of bird deaths (wind farms at the bottom)

Studies byHawkWatch International revealed an electrocution rate of just under 1 bird per 100 poles per year, or 547 birds at 74,000 poles in Utah in 2001-2002. About 10% of the birds killed were Golden Eagles, 34% Ravens, and another 25%Buteos (Red-tailed, Swainson’s and Ferruginous Hawks).

http://www.sibleyguides.com/conservation/causes-of-bird-mortality/

[gejohnston]

3. There are ways to do it,

it seems that these guys have designs that will.
http://inhabitat.com/tag/bird-safe-wind-turbine/
Personally, I lean towards each building generating its own electricity with PV and not have a centralized grid. The biggest cost of LED lights are the built in transformer and rectifier to step down the 120v AC. An inverter for the non light circuits would power the fridge etc.