Drake, There is nothing to it that is documented and recent. There were some problems years ago (20 - 30) due to tower design and poor placement.
The towers are a different design and it was never a serious issue in any case. Years ago the towers were a freestanding design with many places to perch and look for game to pick off for lunch. Rotor diameter is also considerably larger and slower now. Something like 20 rpm vs. 200 rpm. I have watched black birds chase a hawk through the sweeping rotor for 10 -15 minutes, no problems. It might have been the hawk leading the black birds through the rotor. Either way it was fun and fascinating to watch! I think I videotaped it but it was years ago and I have no idea where it might be. My house windows, cat and car get MANY more birds than my turbine ever has. The cat and car do fairly well, when birds fly into the windows it is loud and not good for the birds at all. I have never found a dead bird under any of the turbines that I service. I did find a dead bird in its nest that was inside a nacelle once, it was uninjured and just dead, no sign that it was damaged at all. There is all kinds of misleading stuff like those links out there, it's just not accurate and done by the anti wind folks. Hope this helps, Bob Ellison From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Drake Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2012 6:18 PM To: RE-wrenches Subject: [RE-wrenches] Wind Turbines killing birds and bats Hello Wrenches, A very knowledgeable friend has concern about wind turbines killing birds and bats, and sent me these links. From previous posts on this list and information I've heard elsewhere, I thought this really wasn't much of an issue, more of a red herring by those who are opposed to wind energy. http://www.batsandwind.org/pdf/baerwald%20et%20al%20current%20biology%202008 .pdf http://coalicionventanasverraco.org/files/horn_et_al_2008.pdf http://www.batsandwind.org/main.asp?page=research <http://www.batsandwind.org/main.asp?page=research&sub=operational> &sub=operational http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928095347.htm http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/collisions/pdf/wind_rulemaking_pe tition.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_wind_power How much of an issue is this really? Can we put the danger into perspective? Does this kill more bats and birds than the pollution it displaces? Thanks, Drake Drake Chamberlin ATHENS ELECTRIC LLC OH License 44810 CO license 3773 NABCEP Certified PV
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