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Alameda County mandates all windmills be replaced

By Guy Ashley

CONTRA COSTA TIMES

OAKLAND - The Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Thursday = approved=20 historic new bird-protection measures that will require the gradual = shutdown and=20 replacement of all 5,600 windmills churning in the hills east of=20 Livermore.

Scientists say thousands of birds each year are killed by flying = into the=20 iconic windmills that spin in the Altamont Pass, which since being = established=20 in 1981 have grown into the largest wind-energy project in the world. = These=20 birds include between 881 and 1,300 protected raptors such as golden = eagles,=20 hawks, falcons and owls, according to a study released last year by the=20 California Energy Commission.

But the new measures left little satisfaction among players at the = center=20 of the wildlife-vs.-wind-power debate, suggesting that a protracted = tussle over=20 the world-famous Altamont wind farms' deadly impact on birds may not be=20 over.

Wildlife advocates said the measures, adopted by a 4-1 vote, didn't = go far=20 enough in protecting birds killed by flying into the windmills.

Wind industry representatives, meanwhile, said the measures -- = expected to=20 cost more than $500 million -- would immediately cut Altamont energy = production=20 by 10 percent, expanding reliance on fossil fuels and putting wind-power = companies in financial peril.

"We were hoping the board would step in and hit a home run," said = Jeff=20 Miller, a wildlife advocate who led the charge against wind-energy = companies for=20 killing birds. "Instead, they hit a bloop single."

But by buckling to demands to protect birds, one Altamont = wind-power=20 official said, the board lost sight of a need to balance concerns about = bird=20 deaths with the myriad other problems for which wind energy offers a = hopeful=20 solution.

"This is an important issue," said Rick Koebbe, president of = Altamont Winds=20 Inc., which operates 920 windmills in the Altamont. "But the problem of = bird=20 fatalities out there is rather small when placed in the context of = energy=20 production, our reliance on fossil fuels and related problems like war = in Iraq=20 and global climate change."

Koebbe said his company has already cut its staff by 25 percent in=20 anticipation of the measures passed Thursday, which have been on the = table since=20 the board approved them in concept in July.

"The anti-wind people and the county have pushed us right to the = edge," he=20 said.

The measures require:

=EF=BF=BD The complete replacement of 5,600 Altamont windmills with = larger,=20 slower-spinning machines over the next 13 years, at a cost estimated to = exceed=20 $500 million;

=EF=BF=BD Seasonal shutdowns, meaning only half the windmills will = be allowed to=20 operate between November and February, the winter migratory season when = bird=20 deaths are particularly high;

=EF=BF=BD The immediate shutdown of 2 percent -- or about 100 -- of = the windmills=20 shown by studies to be particularly lethal to birds;

=EF=BF=BD The creation of an environmental impact report over the = next three years=20 to probe in depth the problem of bird fatalities and the most effective = ways to=20 reduce them;

=EF=BF=BD Mitigation measures that would involve purchasing bird = habitat or=20 obtaining conservation easements elsewhere to bolster populations of = birds of=20 prey that are killed in the Altamont.

Experts say the Altamont far surpasses other wind-power facilities = in the=20 number of bird deaths because the windmills stand amid prolific raptor = breeding=20 areas and in the middle of a major migratory flyway.

Wildlife groups forced the issue into the supervisors' hearing room = by=20 appealing the 2003 renewals of 29 wind-power permits, encompassing most = of the=20 Altamont operation. The permits, approved by the East County Board of = Zoning=20 Adjustments, included no bird protection measures.

The appeals asserted Altamont companies have known about hazards to = birds=20 for two decades but have done little to alleviate a problem that cut = down as=20 many as 26,000 raptors in that time.

Miller, who works with the San Francisco-based Center for = Biological=20 Diversity, acknowledged the significant headway toward protecting birds = prompted=20 by the permit appeals. But he and other wildlife advocates maintained = the board=20 should have gone further -- and held out the possibility of a lawsuit in = the=20 next 30 days to contest the new regulations.

Only one supervisor, Gail Steele, voted against the new = regulations, saying=20 they don't go far enough in protecting birds. In particular, she said = she=20 believed more should be done in the short term to protect birds that = will=20 continue to be killed by the hundreds for the next several years as the = measures=20 are implemented.

"The wind will always be there, but the golden eagles will not," = she=20 said.
Reporter Guy Ashley covers Oakland and Alameda County. Reach = him at=20 510-763-8045 or h= ttp://mail.windcows.com/mail/compose?to=3Dgashley@cctimes.com.