Power Engineering - Penn. wind energy pact signed

18 April 2007 -- The Pennsylvania Game Commission signed what it said were "cooperative, voluntary" agreements with 12 companies to avoid, minimize and potentially mitigate any adverse impacts the development of wind energy may have on the state's wildlife.

Under the agreement, a cooperator, or site developer, must notify the Game Commission at least 14 months in advance of wind energy site construction to ensure the agency has sufficient time to assess the land's importance to wildlife and whether species of special conservation concern traverse, nest, feed or rest in it throughout the year or during spring and fall migrations. Notification must include details of the project's infrastructure, topographic maps, demarcation of electrical transmission lines and planned surface impacts. The agency's initial review—limited to 45 days—will help identify wildlife that use the land both year-round and seasonally and assess species use of the land and the air space directly above it.

If a project is proposed for construction in one of Pennsylvania's "Important Bird Areas," or within an area supporting "birds of greatest conservation concern," field survey work will include checks to confirm or deny the presence of nesting birds one day in May and two in June. Additional survey work may be required for state-listed birds and mammals known to inhabit the site. The agreement also requires the project area to be checked for caves, abandoned mine portals (particularly prevalent in the Pennsylvania's Appalachian Mountains and Ridge and Valley province) or other openings in the ground that bats use as winter hibernacula. Additionally, the field review includes raptor surveys to determine the number, height of flight, time of day, flight path, avoidance behavior and species that pass through the project area in the spring and fall.

Another important facet of the agreement is post-construction bat and bird mortality monitoring. Mortality monitoring is the most crucial work conducted because it is used to develop estimates of the number of birds and bats are being killed at a specific site. If high mortality is occurring on a site, or at a particular turbine, discussions about remedial action would follow.

Companies that signed agreements are AES Headwaters Wind, L.L.C. of Arlington, VA; AES Keystone Wind, L.L.C. of Arlington, VA; Airtricity, Inc. of Austin, TX; CPV Wind County Line, L.L.C. of Braintree, MA; Energy Unlimited, Inc. of West Conshohocken, PA; Freedom Wind Energy, L.L.C of White Oak, PA; Gamesa Energy USA of Philadelphia, PA; Iberdrola Renewable Energies USA, LTD of Radnor, PA; PPM Atlantic Renewable of Washington, D.C.; ReEnergy, L.L.C. of Arnold, MD; UPC Wind Management, L.L.C. of Newton, MA; and US Wind Force, L.L.C. of Wexford, PA.

Currently, Pennsylvania is home to at least seven operating wind turbine sites. Another 60 or so currently are being investigated for possible construction. Within just the last month, the Game Commission has been provided an early opportunity to review and comment on proposed projects that would encompass nearly 40,000 acres.

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