San Gorgonio Pass Wind Resource Area Repower Data (2018-2019)

Variation in avian and bat mortality as a function of turbine size was investigated in the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Resource Area near Palm Springs, CA. Five sites were monitored for carcasses by dog-handler teams every 3 days from May 2018 to April 2019. The data consist of six tables used for analyses on mortality rates including: specifications on selected wind turbines (including energy capacity), carcasses found during surveys, results from search efficiency and carcass placement trials of species of different size classes.

Categories: Data; Tags: California, Ecology, Land Use Change, Riverside, San Gorgonio Pass Wind Resource Area, All tags... USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), United States, bats, biota, birds, carcass persistence, ecology, energy production, human impacts, mortality per unit energy, repowering, utilitiesCommunication, wildlife, wildlife mortality, wind energy, wind farm, Fewer tags

Avian and bat fatality rates at old-generation and repowered wind turbines in California

Wind turbines in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (APWRA), California, USA, have caused annual fatalities of thousands of raptors and other birds. Alameda County implemented an Avian Protection Program requiring mitigation measures and eventual repowering to modern wind turbines, all intended to reduce raptor fatality rates 50% from levels estimated for 1998-2003. Two years into the 3-year program, we compared estimates of fatality rates between 1998-2003 and 2005-2007 and between a repowered wind project (Diablo Winds) and the APWRA's old-generation wind turbines. The APWRA-wide fatality rates increased significantly for multiple bird species, including 85% for all raptors and 51% for all birds. Fatality rates...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Altamont Pass, bird fatalities, mitigations, raptor mortality, repowering, All tags... wind energy, wind turbine, Fewer tags

Avian sensitivity to mortality: Prioritising migratory bird species for assessment at proposed wind farms

Wind turbines in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (APWRA), California, USA, have caused annual fatalities of thousands of raptors and other birds. Alameda County implemented an Avian Protection Program requiring mitigation measures and eventual repowering to modern wind turbines, all intended to reduce raptor fatality rates 50% from levels estimated for 1998-2003. Two years into the 3-year program, we compared estimates of fatality rates between 1998-2003 and 2005-2007 and between a repowered wind project (Diablo Winds) and the APWRA's old-generation wind turbines. The APWRA-wide fatality rates increased significantly for multiple bird species, including 85% for all raptors and 51% for all birds. Fatality rates...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Altamont Pass, bird fatalities, mitigations, raptor mortality, repowering, All tags... wind energy, wind turbine, Fewer tags