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Avian Workgroup #8Meeting SummaryNovember 5, 1997 - Boston, MassachusettsWelcome and Introductions Bill Grant, Izaak Walton
League As outgoing Workgroup co-chair, Bill Grant noted that the NWCC’s emphasis is moving beyond research, consensus-building, and preparing reports to conducting outreach and information dissemination and becoming actively involved in areas where wind development is occurring; until now the Avian Workgroup has been in NWCC’s "old mold" and focused on creating dialogue on the issues. Bill noted that while it would be a mistake to cut off this process prematurely, the Workgroup may be behind the curve of the rest of the NWCC and may soon feel pressure to complete works in progress and translate research results into tools for various stakeholders. Dick Anderson thanked Bill for all his hard work as Avian co-chair. Bill noted that having a co-chair to divide up the workload may be desirable; others agreed that recruiting Workgroup replacements, particularly to balance stakeholder groups, is needed. Research Status Summaries NREL now has an Avian Literature Database on its avian site on the National Wind Technology Center’s web page. NREL funded a project to develop a modeling framework for evaluating potential wind power facility impacts that can be generalized to most bird species. Mike Morrison and Ken Pollock have written a paper which:
Sensitivity analyses were conducted on five avian species to determine the effects of survival of age classes on population growth rates. Modeling can help narrow the scope of research requirements for a potential site. Public Service Company of Colorado and Distributed Generation have been co-funding avian research at the Ponnequin wind energy project in Weld County, Colorado; NREL has funded parallel research on reference sites. Based on the information in an environmental assessment of the site, the DOE has issued a finding of no significant impact. WEST, Inc. will begin research on the use of bird flight diverters on guy wires as a mitigation technique for Flowind AWT turbines. Pre-construction research at Columbia Hills will include behavioral and mortality studies for the proposed 25 MW site.
NREL is seeking access to turbines in Altamont to conduct avian perching research to:
Dick Curry of Energy Choice is currently involved in installing 1-3 different types of perch guards on some turbines in Altamont for Kenetech and its partners. NREL is not involved in this research.
Paul Kerlinger examined day/night migrations, breeding, and avian
fatalities at the Searsburg site as an NREL-STEP state co-funded project. Four interim
reports have been completed; a final report is expected by January. Research conducted at Boise State University on the visual
capacities of raptors to see blades, including lab work on painted blade patterns, is
being compiled; the first report is out for peer review. Grainger Hunt has released his second year report (available through
NREL) tracking 179 golden eagles to determine causes of mortality and population
stability. Through August of 1996, fatalities of 26 radio-tagged golden eagles were
examined. Of those 26, 9 were from turbine strikes – about one-third. In
Grainger’s draft final report, which studied the eagles through June 1997, 52
fatalities were recorded, with 17 from turbine strikes – still about one-third. Other
causes of death include: fledging mishap (6), lead poisoning (2), electrocution (9), car
strikes (3), botulism (1), killed by another eagle (2), fence collisions (2), shooting
(1); unknown (9). Meeting attendees questioned whether lead poisoning had been tested as
leading to disorientation for the collisions. Research in Montana has been conducted to determine if radar is
useful in avian studies. Much larger numbers of sitings are recorded, but many are high
above the field of risk for turbines (however bad weather can bring birds closer to the
ground). Flight patterns, speed and elevation can indicate species. Activity after sunset
and nocturnal migration was noted, which wasn’t detected visually. The technology was
found to be an important tool for high risks areas to identify the level of bird activity. WEST is conducting research in the Buffalo Ridge area to compile
before and after information. Average annual fatalities of 1.4 birds per turbine were
estimated; bird populations have not been impacted to date. Little bird activity has been found in the desert, although recharge
basins attract water fowl. Scavenging was found to remove 95% of carcasses within 5 days;
feather spots were visible for one month. National Avian-Wind Power Planning Meeting lll Proposed draft agenda is attached -- meeting has been
tentatively scheduled for May 27-29 in San Diego, 1 1/2 hours from San Gorgonio. Focus of
day 3 should be on outreach and additional current needs such as providing a
"decision tree" tool for developers to determine which sites are appropriate for
development. Standard Metrics and Methods for Monitoring Avian/Wind Energy
Interactions Update: The first draft NWCC avian metrics document has been
sent out for broad stakeholder peer review, with comments requested by January 15. Once
feedback is incorporated; a revised and edited report will be circulated for Workgroup
review. The Workgroup will meet and discuss the document at the Planning Meeting III in
May to determine if NWCC approval will be sought at the June Plenary meeting. Standard Metrics and Methods Workshops, Ft. Collins Workshop Opportunities to disseminate the metrics recommendations to the
public include a symposium planned by the Colorado Governor’s Office for the fall of
1998 in Ft. Collins; the Workgroup may consider supporting other public workshops in
the future. Briefing Paper/Summary of Current Research and Findings Steve Ugoretz has volunteered to develop a summary report of the
various avian-wind studies and results to date as an initial product for state regulators,
similar to other issue papers in NWCC’s series. Discussion: Future Avian Workgroup Efforts Ideas for reaching a larger audience included developing a National
Geographic-type documentary, slideshows, a speakers’ bureau to interact with
grassroots citizens groups, local Audubon clubs, and Fish & Wildlife conferences. Paul
Kerlinger offered assistance on developing this.
November 5, 1997 Boston, Massachusetts
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