April 1995 y NREL/SP-441-7814 Proceedings of National Avian-Wind Power Planning Meeting Lakewood, Colorado July 20-21, 1994 Organized by National Renewable Energy Laboratory U. S. Department of Energy American Wind Energy Association National Audubon Society Electric Power Research Institute Union of Concerned Scientists Meeting Facilitated by RESOLVE, Inc. Washington, D. C. Proceeding Prepared by LGL Ltd., environmental research associates King City, Ontario National Renewable Energy Laboratory 1617 Cole Boulevard Golden, Colorado 80401-3393 A national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Managed by Midwest Research Institute for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract No. DE-AC36-83CH10093 NREL/SP-441-7814 • UC Category 1210 • DE95004090 Proceedings of National Avian-Wind Power Planning Meeting Lakewood, Colorado July 20-21, 1994 Organized by National Renewable Energy Laboratory U. S. Department of Energy American Wind Energy Association National Audubon Society Electric Power Research Institute Union of Concerned Scientists Meeting Facilitated by RESOLVE, Inc. Washington, D. C. Proceeding Prepared by LGL Ltd., environmental research associates King City, Ontario National Renewable Energy Laboratory 1617 Cole Boulevard Golden, Colorado 80401-3393 A national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Managed by Midwest Research Institute for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract No. DE-AC36-83CH10093 Prepared under task number WE517030 April 1995 This publication was reproduced from the best available copy Submitted by the subcontractor and received no editorial review at NREL NOTICE This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. 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ABSTRACT .........................................................111 TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................. iv PREFACE ......................................................... ix GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS .......................................... x INTRODUCTION ................................................... 1 Meeting Organizers. Facilitator and Proceedings ....................... 1 Meeting Participants ............................................ 1 Introductory Comments by Organizers ............................... 4 National Audubon Society ................................... 4 American Wind Energy Association ............................ 4 Electric Power Research Institute ............................. 5 Union of Concerned Scientists ................................ 5 Objectives of the Meeting ......................................... 5 Process Guidelines .............................................. 6 WIND TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW ..................................... 9 Wind Power Status and Utility Activities. by E.A. DeMeo ................. 9 AmTMORTALITY QUESTIONS AT WIND PLANTS ..................... 23 Initial List of Avian Mortality Questions ............................. 23 Structural Design of Wind Plants .............................. 24 Bird Populations ........................................ 24 Wind Plant Siting in Relation to Habitat ........................ 25 Experimental Design ....................................... 25 Management Approaches .................................... 26 General Questions ......................................... 27 Toward a Prioritized List of Research Questions ........................ 27 Recurring Themes in Discussion .............................. 27 Condensed Lists of Major Research Areas ....................... 30 The 14-Point List .................................... 30 Seven-Point "Distilled" List ............................. 31 Five-Point "Sequenced" List ............................. 32 AVIAN MORTALITY AT WIND PLANTS: PAST AND ONGOING RESEARCH .............................................. 33 The History of Wind-Related Avian Research in the U.S.A., by S.A. Gauthreaux. Jr ......................................... 33 ERDNNASA 100 kW Experimental Wind Turbine. Ohio ............ 33 Table of Contents (continued) Page Boeing/PG&E MOD-2 Wind Turbine. California ................... 34 California Energy Commission Studies ......................... 34 Ongoing Pre-Construction Surveys ............................. 35 Industry Research: Kenetech Windpower. by T. J . Cade .................. 36 Research Initiated .......................................... 36 Recommended General Approach .............................. 38 Discussion ............................................... 38 Homing Pigeon Releases ............................... 38 Raptor Behavior and Mortality in Wind Plants .............. 38 Golden Eagle Population Study .......................... 39 U.S. Federal Wind Energy Program Avian Research Projects. by R .W . Thresher ............................................. 39 Lessons from Utility Structure Environmental Impacts. by S. Byrne ......... 41 Biological Generalizations ................................... 41 Procedural Generalizations .................................. 42 Avian Powerline Interaction Committee (APLIC) .................. 42 Discussion ............................................... 42 BirdIWind Turbine Investigations in Europe. by J.E. Winkelman ........... 43 Bird Collisions ............................................ 44 Disturbance and Habitat Loss ................................ 45 Flight Behavior ........................................... 45 Discussion ...............................................46 Migration Behavior and Collisions ........................ 46 Disturbance and Habitat Loss ........................... 47 Bird/Wind Turbine Investigations in Southern Spain. by R. Marti .......... 48 DESIGNS FOR AVIAN-WIND POWER RESEARCH ....................... 53 Standardized Assessment and Monitoring Protocols. by S.A. Gauthreaux. Jr ... 53 Preliminary Site Selection Surveys ............................ 54 Pre- and Post-Construction Surveys ............................ 54 Bird Populations ..................................... 54 Bird Movements ..................................... 55 Searches for Dead and Injured Birds ...................... 55 Conclusions .............................................. 56 Discussion ............................................... 56 How Important is Standardization? ....................... 56 Methods for Monitoring Populations and Movements ......... 57 Monitoring of Collisions With Surrogate Tall Structures ....... 58 Control Data on Bird Mortality .......................... 59 Conceptual Framework: Adaptive Resource Management and the Integration of Diverse Studies. by T.D.Nudds ............................. 59 Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) ......................... 59 Table of Contents (continued) Page Integration of Diverse Studies ................................ 62 Siting Studies ....................................... 62 Existing Site Studies .................................. 63 Generic Hypotheses to be Tested .............................. 64 Experimental Design ....................................... 65 Discussion ............................................... 66 GIs Approach ....................................... 66 Behavioral Data ..................................... 66 Population Models. Uncertainty. and ARM ................. 67 BACIDesign ........................................ 68 DEFINING AN INTEGRATED PLAN FOR AVIAN-WIND POWER RESEARCH ................................ 70 Principles for a National Avian-Wind Power Research Plan. by J. Beyea ..... 70 Principles Related to Management ............................. 70 Establishing a Research Climate .............................. 71 Who Should Sponsor or Conduct Various Kinds of Research? ......... 71 Collaborative Research ...................................... 71 Toward a National Research Agenda ................................ 72 Policy. Conceptual and Research Management Context ............. 72 General Research Approach .................................. 73 Site-Selection and Re-Construction Studies ...................... 74 Need for Clear and Appropriate Definitions ...................... 75 Important Research Categories ............................... 75 Research Priorities ......................................... 76 Suggested Specific Research Projects ...................... 76 Near-Term Contract Awards by DoE/NREL ................. 77 Key Elements of any Good Scientific Research .................... 77 Guidelines for Field Surveys ................................. 77 NEXT STEPS TO BE TAKEN .......................................... 79 MEETINGS-Y ............................................... 80 Wind Technology Overview .......................................