Researchers Alarmed by Bat Deaths from Wind Turbines

[MountainLaurel]

Jessica Kerns thought her survey of new power-generating wind turbines on a mountaintop in West Virginia would yield the standard result: a smattering of dead birds that were whacked by the whirring blades.

But the University of Maryland doctoral student turned up something unexpected amid the trees and rolling ridges of Backbone Mountain: hundreds of bat carcasses, some with battered wings and bloodied faces. "It was really a shock," Kerns said.

Thousands of bats have died at Backbone and on another nearby wind farm in Meyersdale, Pa. -- more per turbine than at any other wind facility in the world, according to researchers' estimates. The deaths are raising concerns about the impact of hundreds more turbines planned in the East, including some in western Maryland, as the wind industry steps up expansion beyond its traditional areas in the West and Great Plains.

The bat deaths, which have baffled researchers, pose a problem for an industry that sells itself as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional power plants. Wind proponents already have had to battle complaints about bird deaths from the blades and about unsightly turbines marring pristine views.

Read the full story here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39941-2004Dec31.html?sub=AR

[China_cat]

1. Not hard to understand

Bounce a radar signal off a whirling blade and it will show as a clear path. I imagine it would work the same way with bats' echolocation.

[Verve]

2. Then how can you reroute the bats? There must be a way. n/t

[China_cat]

3. They would need something solid

to bounce their own signals from or the turbines would have to be fixed to rotate at a rate that would appear solid to the echolocation frequency.

I'm not sure if lights would do any good, but if they would it would be the easiest and cheapest way to protect the bats without interfering with the energy production of the wind farms.

It's a hard situation. The wind farms do good for the environment in the way of energy production and the bats do good for the environment by eating insect pests. As it stands, it's a lose/lose situation.

[phantom power]

4. birds, bats, and views all pale in comparison to the

environmental cost of continuing to burn fossil fuels.

[blindpig]

5. views, yes

but I disagree concerning the wildlife. Some attrition of common species might be an acceptable trade off but rare/uncommon/declining species cannot stand the attrition. It may be that some sites that are heavily used by wildlife should not be developed for wind. I doubt that would have any serious negative impact on wind power overall. Perhaps migration corridors should be avoided in general.

[phantom power]

6. that would be a good practice, if we can. We need to bear in mind that

if we can't get climate change under control, these species are quite possibly going to become extinct anyway, along with a lot of other species, maybe including us.

It's repugnant to speak of trading some number of species against the risk of a much larger number of species (and humans), but I believe that is the choice confronting us. And, every year we ignore what we're doing to the climate, the choices will become more difficult.

[blindpig]

7. just mind that slippery slope

or we'll end up where we're heading anyway.

For myself, I cannot accept the loss of another species for human convenience. Too much gone or going............

[Tace]

8. Maybe An Ultrasonic Signal That Repels The Bats Would Work

There's got to be a simple solution. Some kind of "scarebat."

[MountainLaurel]

9. A couple potential solutions

That have been mentioned were to simply shut them down for a few hours each night during the migration system, or to raise or lower the height of the turbines.

For more information about the issue, try the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy: http://www.wvhighlands.org/

[Southpaw Bookworm]

10. Update

http://www.dominionpost.com/a/news/2005/01/06/aq/

The Garrett County Commissioners say they won't support any more wind power projects beyond the two they already have endorsed, amid questions about the turbines' effects on wildlife, scenery and property values.

The commissioners also said they will seek authority to limit the development of additional wind farms, possibly through countywide land-use zoning.

The announcement Tuesday marked a turn by Maryland's westernmost county against proliferation of the 30- to 40-story windmills that have appeared along Appalachian ridge tops in nearby Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The state Public Service Commission has approved two such projects in Maryland -- a 67-turbine wind farm atop Backbone Mountain in Garrett County and a 25-turbine project atop Savage Mountain in neighboring Allegany County -- and it is reviewing a proposed 24-turbine project in Garrett.

''At this time, it is the board's desire to limit wind power development to the two current projects'' in Garrett County, the commissioners said in a prepared statement. They said the board ''will not, as a matter of its operating policy, endorse future development at this time.''