Wind farm operator says eagle deaths overestimated

The Albuquerque Journal ^ | December 24, 2013 | AP

[CedarDave]

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The developers of what could become the nation’s largest wind energy project say the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has overestimated how many eagles could be killed by wind turbines at the site.

They say they’re planning a variety of measures to reduce eagle deaths at the $5 billion Chokecherry/Sierra Madre wind power project south of Rawlins, and those steps will result in fewer deaths than the BLM estimate of 46-64 per year.

[CedarDave]

The article states the Power Company of Wyoming plans to install 1,000 turbines on northern foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains. These would generate enough electricity to power one-million homes.

Where oh where are the bird lovers, the environmentalists, the Sierra Club, PETA and other conservation groups? Oh, applauding Obama's EPA for shutting down coal-powered generating stations which provide for inexpensive reliable power to many millions with much less impact on the environment.

[Libloather]

No mention of eagles ANYWHERE on the PETA website.

[darkwing104]

PETA will only be out there to watch eagles die...They get off killing pets.

[mrsmel]

But private citizens can't build homes on their own property if they find one tadpole in a mud puddle somewhere.

[Mastador1]

PETA will only be out there to watch eagles die...They get off killing pets.

People
Euthanising
Tame
Animals

[Baynative]

As slowly as those big blades turn, I can’t understand how they kill so many birds.

[nascarnation]

Tip speeds are typically 150-200 mph

http://www.aweo.org/windmodels.html

[The Antiyuppie]

You can go to Federal prison and lose your house for the POSESSION of a single feather of a bald eagle, even if you found it on the ground.

[RightGeek]

They say they’re planning a variety of measures to reduce eagle deaths...

Warning signs?

[Boogieman]

The quick and dirty solution is just to make sure you napalm your entire property before the environmental inspectors show up. Maybe salt the earth too, just in case.

[Boogieman]

Unless you’re an indian. They get a special exemption, I guess because they were doing it before it was popular.

[MisterArtery]

I've wondered about this for a long time. The blades turn very slowly and eagles have incredible eyesight and are very manuverable. Probably BS from the animal rights crowd.

[Baynative]

There are a lot of Bald Eagles that fish the shores and bays around where I live. They are fast and agile and can interpret the direction of a fish swimming even with the refraction of light on water.

I can't grasp how they run into those big lumbering blades. Even if the tip speed is over 150, the blade is still not moving at what seems like a high speed.

[nascarnation]

Not sure.
But if you gin up some fake credentials (like some POTUS we know), maybe you can get a couple million grant from the fedgov for a study?

[andyk]

It's not the blades slicing and dicing birdies, it's the quick and dramatic changes in air pressure.

Of course, greenies are loathe to admit it. Turns out clean energy isn't always so clean.

[andyk]

If they stab a baby seal to death with a bald eagle quill, they get a $1,000 refundable tax credit.

[Baynative]

I think you’ve got a good idea. There’s big bucks in the grant and non-profit industries these days.

[thackney]

The revolution per minute on large wind turbines are relatively slow, but the tip speed is moving good and out of the birds path/sight until the last moment. Typically they are at 150~200 mph.

Size specifications of common industrial wind turbines
http://www.aweo.org/windmodels.html

[digger48]

These would generate enough electricity to power one-million homes.

This is one of their biggest lies. The numbers they throw out are for the power if they are producing at 100% capacity, 100% of the time.

Industrial Wind Turbine output averages out to less than 12% of capacity.So,. you're talking about 120,000 homes.

And, if it's anything like the Wind Subsidy Farms they are building in Indiana, thee power that is generated is being sold to markets out east that not only destroyed their own Energy supply , but now demand we cover our state in 500 foot tall monuments to Gaia, because they don't like the electrcicty we sell them that comes from icky coal.

[G Larry]

The beneficiaries of this Billion Dollar boondoggle assure us there’s no harm....

Just what meaningful measures are possible for crying out loud?