Transcript Slide 1

Photograph Courtesy of Union of Concerned Scientists Website
China Leads in Co2 Emissions, But
the US Has the Largest Footprint
• China 5 tons of CO2 per head;
• European Union 10 tons of CO2 per head
• USA 20 tons CO2 per head
• Much of China’s CO2 is produced manufacturing
Products for U.S. consumer
Wind Turbines Reduce CO2
For each wind turbine installed, an average of 1,000 tons of
CO2 emissions are avoided
International Carbon Bank & Exchange: Carbon Database, CO2 Reduction Calculator
Wind Farms in the U.S.
2006 Courtesy of the American Wind Energy Assoc.
The top five states in new installations were Texas (774
MW), Washington (428 MW), California (212 MW), New
York (185 MW) and Minnesota (150 MW)
Wind Power’s Influence is Growing
• Growing rapidly worldwide on a percentage basis (25% annually from
2002-2006);
• Total installed U.S. wind capacity at year's end 2006 was 11,603 MW -
equivalent of nearly 3 million average households (hh of 8 million people);
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Globally, 15,197 MW of new wind capacity was added in 2006. Current
installed capacity worldwide at the end of 2005 was 74,223 MW;
• Denmark and some regions of Spain and Germany now have 10% to 25%
of electricity generated from wind power
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Source: American Wind Energy Association
What Wind Power Can do for its
Country
• U.S. wind turbines produce enough
electricity to meet the needs of more than
3 million households
• A single modern wind turbine can produce
enough power to meet the annual
electricity needs of 500 average homes.
State Legislation
• 2007 Oregon Legislature adopted law that 25%
of electricity come from clean, homegrown
renewable energy sources by 2025;
• Oregon - no parallel land use “supersiting” or
expedited siting policies;
• Washington has expedited siting policies
• Wa. Governor authority to preempt local land
use decisions
Issues
• Aesthetics
• Noise
• Ice Fall
• Turbine collapse
• Wind Turbine Syndrome
• Wildlife – particularly avian and bat
impacts
Comparison of Avian Wind Power Mortality
with Other Human Influences
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Annual mortality estimate Percent composition
Buildings
550 million
58.2 percent
Power lines
130 million
13.7 percent
Cats
100 million
10.6 percent
Automobiles
80 million
8.5 percent
Pesticides
67 million
7.1 percent
Communications towers
4.5 million
0.5 percent
Wind turbines
28.5 thousand
<0.01 percent
Airplanes
25 thousand <0.01 percent
Other sources (oil spills, oil seeps, fishing by-catch, etc.) not calculated
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Summary and Comparison of Bird Mortality from Anthropogenic Causes with an Emphasis on
Collisions: Erickson, Johnson and Young (2005)
Potential Adverse Effects on Radar
Can Be Mitigated
• Report To The Congressional Defense
Committees: The Effect of Windmill Farms
On Military Readiness 2006: No wind farm
within radar line of sight
• Report June 2007 DOD Specific to Cape Wind –
Mitigation –wind farm ok so long as establish 25
km wind turbine offset or buffer zone to
"mitigate impact"
Land Use Battles
• Lathrop v. State Energy facility Site Evaluation Council,
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130 Wash. App 147, 121 P3d 774 (2005) (affirming
expedited facility siting).
Ecogen LLC v. Town of Italy, 438 FSupp2d 149 (2006)
(aff’d 2 year moratorium on wind siting projects).
• Bomba v. Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of
Princeton, 2005 WL 2106162 (September 1, 2005)
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(unreported) (wind power facility flunks 35 ft. height
restriction)
Womble v. Wasco County, ___ Or LUBA ___ (LUBA No.
2006-241, April 10, 2007) (due dilligence work for
temporary facilities subjected to land use standards).
Cape Wind – America’s First
Offshore Wind Power Facility
• Issue: Should a wind farm be built in Nantucket
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Sound?
High profile legal, political and legislative battle
raging for more than 5 years
Temporary facility finally approved and recording
good energy prospects
DOD lifted radar conflict obstacle June 2007
Still long way to go permits hoped for in 2008 –
turbine construction and installation 2010
View from 5.6 miles away
View From 6.5 Miles Away
View From 13.8 Miles Away
Navigating Multi-jurisdictional
Hurdles
Most projects require determination of compatibility with local land use
rules;
State energy siting authorities must approve;
Off Shore – Army Corps of Engineers (submerged lands); US Minerals
Management Service (continental shelf beyond three mile limit); NOAA
(National Marine Sanctuaries Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation Act); FERC; FAA; DOD; Dept. Homeland Security;
Proposed FERC Rules for Off Shore Projects