Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 08:28:50 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Gail Mackiernan Subject: Article on MD windfarms In-Reply-To: <150.1915428d.2b33b525@aol.com> Mime-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hi all -- This was forwarded to me by a non-birding friend-- Perhaps Speaker Taylor needs to be reminded that migratory birds are federally protected, at least not on military bases! Gail Mackiernan ---------- Subject: Fwd: Slow! Birds Crossing!!! Slow! Birds Crossing!!! Maryland Regulators Tell Windpower Plants to Stop Giant Turbines During Heavy Bird Migration Periods By DAVID DISHNEAU Associated Press Writer HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- State regulators want to require developers of two proposed wind power plants in western Maryland to shut down the giant turbines during periods when the whirling blades could kill large numbers of migratory birds. The condition, apparently the first of its kind in the nation, is aimed at balancing the interests of wildlife advocates and wind power developers, who are racing to build the plants by Dec. 31, 2003, when a federal tax incentive expires. "We are supporting both plants on an expedited schedule but we are building in contingencies in the event there are problems," Paul Massicot, director of the Department of Natural Resources' Resource Assessment Services division said Wednesday. "The last thing we want to happen at a wind energy plant is a big environmental problem." One of the companies, U.S. Wind Force of Baden, Pa., has agreed to shut down its proposed windmill farm for up to 18 hours a year if the 25 turbines are found to kill more than 200 birds or bats per windmill in a 24-hour period, president Thomas Matthews said. The other company, Clipper Windpower of Carpinteria, Calif., is in talks with the DNR about the agency's proposed condition requiring shutdowns of up to 53.7 hours a year if Clipper's planned 67 turbines are found to kill the same number, Kevin Rackstraw, the company's director of East Coast development, said. "We're trying to move things along and we want to be as cooperative as we can," Rackstraw said. The shutdowns would likely occur for several hours at time during periods when the threat to wildlife is greatest, Massicot said. He said the shutdown period proposed for Clipper was longer because scientists believe there is more bird activity at that project's location, atop Backbone Mountain, Maryland's highest ridge. Both projects are awaiting approval by the state Public Service Commission. Public hearings are scheduled Jan. 7 for the Clipper project and Jan. 14 for the U.S. Wind Power project. Massicot agreed with both developers that there is no reason to expect significant bird mortality at either site. However, bird and bat deaths have been associated with wind farms and communications towers elsewhere, especially on overcast nights when migrating birds, apparently lost without the stars, tend to circle lighted towers, Massicot said. Because of the approaching tax deadline, state regulators chose to recommend that bird mortality be monitored after the plants are built rather than holding off on construction until more studies are done, Massicot said. The Sierra Club urges the opposite approach, Charles Garlow, energy chairman of the environmental group's Maryland chapter, said. "The official position of the Maryland Sierra Club is that the Maryland Department of Natural Resources oppose granting of the permits until such time as more comprehensive studies of the potential bird impact be completed," Garlow said. State House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr., an Allegany County Democrat, called the shutdown provisions "asinine" in a story published Wednesday in the Cumberland Times-News. Taylor, who lost the November election and is leaving office next month, said overzealous bird protection could hamper future development of such projects. ------ Maryland Public Service Commission: http://www.psc.state.md.us/psc Clipper Windpower: http://www.clipperwind.com Sierra Club, Maryland: http://maryland.sierraclub.org/ ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================