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Thursday, October 22, 2009

Environment - "Environmentalists divided over wind farm, endangered bats"

An earlier ILB entry on wind turbines and the Indiana bat was: "Indiana bat endangered by wind farms?" from June 9, 2009.

This long story from the Washington Post, by Maria Glod, is dated Oct. 21 and headed "Environmentalists divided over wind farm, endangered bats." It begins:

GREENBRIER COUNTY, W.Va. -- Workers atop mountain ridges are putting together 389-foot windmills with massive blades that will turn Appalachian breezes into energy. Retiree David Cowan is fighting to stop them. Because of the bats.

Cowan, 72, a longtime caving fanatic who grew to love bats as he slithered through tunnels from Maine to Maui, is asking a federal judge in Maryland to halt construction of the Beech Ridge wind farm. The lawsuit pits Chicago-based Invenergy Wind LLC, a company that produces green energy, against environmentalists who say the price to nature is too great.

It is a rare green vs. green case, and it's scheduled to go to trial Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt.

It is the first court challenge to wind power under the Endangered Species Act, lawyers on both sides say. With President Obama's goal of doubling renewable energy production by 2012, wind and solar farms are rapidly expanding. As they do, battles are being waged to reach the right balance between the benefits of clean energy and the impact on birds, bats and even the water supply.

At the heart of the Beech Ridge case is the Indiana bat, a brownish gray creature that weighs about as much as three pennies and, wings outstretched, measures about 8 inches. A 2005 estimate concluded there were about 457,000 of them, half the number as when they were first listed as endangered in 1967.

More from the story:
The case probably will come down to a battle of bat experts.

There is no question turbines in other locations have killed tens of thousands of bats. Some strike blades. Others die from a condition known as barotrauma, similar to the bends that afflict divers. It occurs when the swirl of the blades creates low-pressure zones that cause the bats' tiny lungs to hemorrhage. Scientists and the industry are seeking ways to lessen the kills, including stopping the turbines at certain times or using sound to deter the bats.

But the habits of Indiana bats largely remain a mystery to scientists. They are so small that only recently has the technology been available to produce devices small enough to track their movements.

An AP story by Alex Dominguez, also dated Oct. 21, reports on the case, and begins:
GREENBELT, Md. — A proposed West Virginia wind power project will harm a tiny, endangered bat and its developers should be should be required to obtain permits under the Endangered Species Act, attorneys for two environmental groups argued Wednesday in federal court.

The developers admit bats will be killed by the turbines, but refuse to acknowledge the endangered Indiana bat will be among them, plaintiffs attorney Eric Glitzenstein argued in his opening statements.

"Is there some reason to think Indiana bats will escape the fate" of the other bats expected to be killed, Glitzenstein asked District Judge Roger Titus, who is hearing the bench trial.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 22, 2009 07:16 AM
Posted to Environmental Issues