Don't let the counties give away the (wind)-farm

New permits need to require effective protection for birds

Wind power is one of the most promising forms of clean and inexpensive energy, and its role in reducing global warming will benefit ecosystems worldwide. The developers of the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (APWRA) were pioneers in the commercial conversion of wind power into electricity, but they lacked the foresight to see its impact on birds. As a result, the wind farms of the Altamont Pass have achieved international attention due to their inability to strike a balance between clean energy production and wildlife (see accompanying article).

In the next few weeks Alameda and Contra Costa Counties will make critical permitting decisions on multiple new and existing wind turbine projects. The conditions in these permits will determine whether the Altamont continues to be a black eye for the wind-power industry or becomes a role model for harnessing the wind in environmentally sensitive areas.

Re-permitting

In Alameda County the first generation of commercial wind turbines was installed in the early 80's with 20-year operating permits. Many of these permits had expired by January 2004, when the East County Zoning Board issued new permits for over 85% of the over 4,000 turbines installed there. The permits were given an indefinite term, and the conditions of operation allowed the turbines to run until failure, with no binding mandate to mitigate birdkills other than the formation of a working group and five-year reviews.

The Center for Biodiversity (CBD) and Californians for Renewable Energy (CARE) appealed the renewals because of their disregard for federal laws protecting eagles and migratory birds, the lack of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), expiration of some of the permits, and the indefinite term. The county has since agreed to limit the term to 20 years, but this change has yet to be incorporated into a binding document. The Sierra Club Bay Chapter supports the CBD appeal.

In Contra Costa County, re-permitting is not an issue until at least 2010 since the more than 1,200 turbines operating there were originally given 30-year permits.

Re-powering

Regardless of the expiration dates, the existing turbines are getting old, and most will stop operating long before the new permits expire.

Two projects for re-powering - the replacement of old turbines with new ones - could have longer-term repercussions, not only because the replacement turbines will last for decades, but also because of the precedents they will set.

In Alameda County, the Elworthy project was approved in September 2003, and 169 existing "egg beater" style turbines have been removed. If the facility operators, Florida Light and Power and NEG Micon, install 45 new turbines as planned, they will be the first to implement the design and siting guidelines defined in the 1998 EIR titled "Repowering a Portion of APWRA". This EIR specifies a monitoring program to verify that the new guidelines succeed in reducing avian mortality, but it has the weakness that the monitoring will be done by wind-farm operators, who could be biased towards underreporting bird carcasses. Ultimately, volunteers from the Sierra Club Bay Chapter will play a critical oversight role in evaluating the effectiveness of the repowering program.

Contra Costa County in August is expected to issue a Draft EIR (DEIR) for a similar re-power project called Buena Vista. This project proposes to replace 179 turbines totaling 41.6 megawatts with 38 one-megawatt turbines. A previous version of the EIR had to be retracted earlier in the year because it relied solely on the 1998 Repowering EIR and had a number of omissions: no plan for the two-year pre-construction monitoring plan specified in 1998 EIR, no mention of federal laws protecting raptors and migrating birds, no detailed turbine site locations, no mention of new data recently published by the California Energy Commission.

What You Can Do

The Alameda Board of Supervisors is to consider CBD's appeal of the re-permitting on Sep. 2. Contact your supervisor before then, and urge them to support the appeal. To find your supervisor see: www.co.alameda.ca.us/board/index.htm or call (510) 272-6347.

In Contra Costa County, the Buena Vista Draft EIR comment period will end approximately Sep. 15. For a summary of the report and the Sierra Club's analysis of it, and for the address to which comments should be sent, contact Tom Roberts at tc.roberts -at- mindspring.com

A more detailed version of this article is available at: www.sfbayenergy.org

You can also learn more by attending a meeting on "Wind Energy and Birds in the Altamont Pass" on Wed., Sep. 22 or by joining a Wind Energy tour on Sat., Sep. 25 (see calendar).

Tom Roberts, chair, Chapter Energy Committee