Birds get a break from blades
This winter, the whirling blades of half of the more
than 5,000 windmills perched atop Altamont Pass will grind to a
halt for two months. That plan will allow migrating birds to fly
safely through the area.
Under new county permitting
rules, the windmill companies, which supply power for 120,000
homes, will halt their turbines during the winter, when winds blow
softly and state power needs are lowest. The goal is to halve the
number of birds of prey killed by Altamont’s turbines each
year, now estimated at 881 to 1,300 (HCN, 5/2/05: Blades, birds and
bats: Wind energy and wildlife not a cut-and-dried issue). The
companies will also replace aging windmills with fewer, more
efficient and bird-friendlier turbines over the next 13 years.
Tristan Grimbert, president of enXco, an Altamont energy
producer, says his company will spend as much as $120 million to
upgrade its windmills. But he cautions that the industry may have
to shut down if forced to make more concessions. "Then you have to
replace those megawatts with coal or oil," he says. "That would be
as detrimental to the birds."
Jeff Miller, coordinator for the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, says his organization is satisfied with the recent decision by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, though it favored a state attorney general’s plan calling for stronger penalties and swifter action. The Center still has a lawsuit open against enXco and other Altamont companies, seeking new nesting habitat as compensation for years of windmill-killed birds. Final approval of the county rules, with additional conditions to further protect birds, is expected this September.
