World Wind Watch | Green Energy News

February 13, 2005 – Vol.9 No.47

WORLD WIND WATCH.

Have bat strikes never been a problem at wind farms, or have the problem of bat strikes at wind farms been ignored?

Until numerous bat deaths were reported at two wind farms in the U.S. state of West Virginia the issue had not been a big one. Now it is for wind developers already operating in that state and others who want to do so.

FPL Energy, that owns the two wind farms in question, has issued a press release touting the company’s positive impact on the environment from its windfarms - 3.8 million ton of coal avoided (equivalent to 32,579 train cars of coal, or 10.5 million barrels of oil or more than 45.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas)

In terms of emissions FPL’s 43 wind farms (the company is the nation’s leader in wind energy) 4.4 million tons of carbon dioxide have been avoided to date, as have 12,000 tons of sulfur dioxide and 8300 tons of nitrogen oxide.

The company, too, added $70 million to the job, economic and tax base in the areas where its wind farms are located.

A study on the bat strike problem is now being undertaken with the results to be known soon. FPL, naturally, is involved with the organization set up to complete the study, the Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative. Visit it at http://www.batcon.org/wind and FPL at http://www.fplenergy.com/