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Chiropteran Risk Assessment: Proposed Pleasant Ridge

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Chiropteran Risk Assessment: Proposed Pleasant Ridge CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE - 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(g) CONTAINS SENSITIVE BIOLOGICAL DATA – NOT FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION OR DISCLOSURE PLEASANT RIDGE EXHIBIT 105 PN 1664.017-001 February 2009 CHIROPTERAN RISK ASSESSMENT PROPOSED PLEASANT RIDGE WIND ENERGY GENERATION FACILITY LIVINGSTON COUNTY, ILLINOIS Prepared for: Invenergy Wind Development LLC 1 South Wacker Drive, Suite 2020 Chicago, IL 60606 Prepared by: BHE Environmental, Inc. 11733 Chesterdale Road Cincinnati, OH 45246-3405 www.bheenvironmental.com Notice: This report has been prepared by BHE Environmental, Inc., solely for the benefit of its client in accordance with an approved scope of work. BHE assumes no liability for the unauthorized use of this report or the information contained in it by a third party. Copyright © 2009 BHE Environmental, Inc. CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE - 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(g) CONTAINS SENSITIVE BIOLOGICAL DATA – NOT FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION OR DISCLOSURE TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1 2.0 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT AREA ................................................. 3 2.1 Regional Conditions................................................................... 3 2.2 Site-specific Conditions .............................................................. 3 2.3 Bats ..................................................................................... 4 2.3.1 Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis) .................................................. 5 2.3.2 Northern Long-Eared Bat (M. septentrionalis) ............................. 6 2.3.3 Little Brown Bat (M. lucifugus) .............................................. 7 2.3.4 Eastern Pipistrelle (Perimyotis subflavus) .................................. 7 2.3.5 Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus) ............................................. 7 2.3.6 Eastern Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis) ......................................... 8 2.3.7 Hoary Bat (L. cinereus) ........................................................ 8 2.3.8 Silver-Haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) .............................. 9 2.3.9 Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis) .......................................... 9 3.0 POTENTIAL EFFECTS TO BATS .......................................................... 9 3.1 Bat Mortality at Wind Energy Generation Facilities ........................... 10 3.2 Bat Collision Mortality .............................................................. 13 3.3 Habitat Degradation ................................................................ 15 3.4 Disturbance and Displacement of Bats .......................................... 16 4.0 LITERATURE CITED ...................................................................... 17 Chiropteran Risk Assessment ii BHE Environmental, Inc. Pleasant Ridge Wind Generation Facility CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE - 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(g) CONTAINS SENSITIVE BIOLOGICAL DATA – NOT FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION OR DISCLOSURE TABLES Table 1. Attributes of the Pleasant Ridge Project area as compared to other Midwestern wind energy generation facilities where post-construction studies of bat mortality have been conducted. Table 2. Bats potentially present within five miles of the proposed Pleasant Ridge Planning Area during summer, winter, and spring/fall migration. FIGURES Figure 1. Proposed Pleasant Ridge wind energy generation facility, Illinois. Figure 2a. Proposed Pleasant Ridge wind energy generation facility (northern half), Livingston County, Illinois. Figure 2b. Proposed Pleasant Ridge wind energy generation facility (southern half), Livingston County, Illinois. Figure 3. Nearby wind energy generation facilities at which bat mortality studies have been completed. Figure 4. Ecoregion Sections at Pleasant Ridge and other nearby wind energy generation facilities. Figure 5. Approximate location of Pecumsaugan Creek-Blackball Mines Nature Preserve, LaSalle County, Illinois. Figure 6. Counties in which the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) occurs near the proposed Pleasant Ridge wind energy generation facility, Livingston County, Illinois. APPENDICES APPENDIX A Agency Correspondence APPENDIX B Photographs APPENDIX C Bats of the Pleasant Ridge Project Planning Area: Range Maps Chiropteran Risk Assessment iii BHE Environmental, Inc. Pleasant Ridge Wind Generation Facility CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE - 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(g) CONTAINS SENSITIVE BIOLOGICAL DATA – NOT FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION OR DISCLOSURE 1.0 INTRODUCTION Invenergy Wind Development LLC of Chicago, Illinois, proposes construction of the Pleasant Ridge wholesale wind energy generation facility in Livingston County, Illinois (Figure 1). The general location of the Pleasant Ridge facility (―project planning area‖) spans 165 mi2 (427.4 km2) of southern Livingston County. Towns near the planning area include Fairbury, Forrest, and Chatsworth, Illinois. The planning area is approximately 1 percent forested, with forested areas occurring primarily in the Vermilion River and parts of the Indian Creek floodplains. Land use within the planning area is primarily agricultural (Figure 2). The planning area represents the maximum area considered for placement of turbines and facility infrastructure. The actual area occupied by the turbines, transmission line, and access roads that will comprise the facility will be a very small percentage of the Project planning area. Details of the transmission line and access road routing have not been determined at this time, though the transmission line is expected to be 5 to 10 mi (8 to 16 km) in length and will terminate at the Pontiac midpoint substation near the town of McDowell, in Livingston County. The Pleasant Ridge facility will consist of approximately 330 wind turbines, located in strings or arrays within the Project planning area. Current plans call for installation of a mix of 1.5 MW and 2.5 MW turbines (GE Model 1.5 sle and GE Model 2.5 xl. The maximum total nameplate project capacity will be 695 megawatts (MW) (assuming approximately 130 1.5 MW and 200 2.5 MW turbines. The hub height on the GE 1.5 MW turbines is approximately 262.5 ft (80 m) agl and rotors will be approximately 126.3 ft (38.5 m) long. With the rotor tip in the 12 o'clock position, the wind turbines will reach a maximum height of approximately 388.8 ft (118.5 m) above ground level (AGL). At the 6 o'clock position, the rotor tip will be approximately 136.2 ft (41.5 m) AGL. The turbine rotor will turn at a maximum operating speed of 20.4 revolutions per minute (rpm). Each 2.5 MW turbine will have a hub height of approximately 328.1 ft (100 m) agl and rotors will be approximately 164 ft (50 m) long. With the rotor tip in the 12 o'clock position, the wind turbines will reach a maximum height of approximately 492.1 ft (150 m) AGL. At the 6 o'clock position, the rotor tip will be approximately 164 ft (50 m) AGL. The turbine rotor will turn at a maximum operating speed of 14.1 rpm. Both turbine models have a nominal ―cut-in speed‖ of 7.9 miles per hour (3.5 meters per second [m/s]). That is, winds of 3.5 m/s contain sufficient energy to support the generation of electric power by the turbine. At wind speeds below 3.5 m/s, as measured by an anemometer atop each nacelle, the turbine’s ―primary brake‖ is applied (i.e., the turbine blades are feathered by orienting the primary surface of each blade parallel to the wind direction). With the primary brake applied, the blades will not rotate around the hub, or will rotate very slowly (less than 1 rpm). Control systems allow the cut-in wind speed to be set independently at each turbine. Wind speeds above 3.5 m/s will result in blade speeds of 1 to 20.4 rpm, depending upon wind speeds. If wind speeds at an operating (spinning) turbine drop below the cut-in speed, the primary brake is applied and the blades come to a stop within approximately one minute. Control systems allow the cut-in wind speed to be set Chiropteran Risk Assessment 1 BHE Environmental, Inc. Pleasant Ridge Wind Generation Facility CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE - 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(g) CONTAINS SENSITIVE BIOLOGICAL DATA – NOT FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION OR DISCLOSURE independently at each turbine. If wind speeds at an operating (spinning) turbine drop below the cut-in speed, the primary brake is applied and the blades come to a stop within approximately one minute. Turbines will be lit with red strobe-like or incandescent flashing lights. Lighting will be limited to the minimum number required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for aircraft safety. Each turbine tower will be set upon a concrete pad with an aboveground diameter of approximately 15 ft (4.5 m). Nominally, crops and other vegetation within approximately 180 ft (55 m) of each tower site will be cleared, yielding a maximum of 330, 2.3-acre openings (759 acres of clearing for tower sites). The total cleared area required for erection of turbines will be approximately 1.19 mi2 (3.08 km2), or approximately 0.07 percent of the total Project planning area. As tree cover is extremely sparse within the Project planning area and most land use is agricultural, it is expected that there will be little or no removal of trees necessary for construction of turbines. Interactions between wind turbines and wildlife, particularly flying creatures such as birds and bats, are a known and documented occurrence. Utility-scale wind turbines can directly and indirectly affect bats that occur
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