ABC's Wind Program

ABC believes that wind energy is a valuable, non-polluting, renewable power source, capable of reducing our reliance on fossil-fuel burning power-plants that damage the environment through greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, and other environmental hazards. Wind farms, however, kill birds and bats, thereby raising concerns of a different kind. We all want clean, renewable energy, but we cannot sacrifice large numbers of birds and still consider wind power "green."

Despite the fast pace of development of wind power and its great potential to provide green energy, we must not be in a hurry to get it wrong. Continued close collaboration with industry and strong federal regulation that uses tax breaks for doing the right thing and meaningful fines for doing the wrong thing will be the carrot and stick approach that will ensure the next fifty years are positive for birds at wind farms.

To that extent, ABC is working to make wind energy nationally regulated, either through federal legislation that requires the adoption of the Best Management Practices, or by working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to finalize siting, mitigation, and enforcement guidelines.

ABC is also working in the following ways to ensure safer production of wind-generated electricity:

• helping to generate research funds to develop maps of important bird areas and migration bottlenecks and place these off limits to wind development
• furthering scientific knowledge that will help minimize and mitigate the collision and habitat impacts of wind turbines on birds and other wildlife
• evaluating prospective wind project sites, and insure development that protects migratory birds and birds of conservation concern from site-specific hazards and habitat loss at important U.S. and international sites (CA, TX, VA, MA, Mexico, Puerto Rico)
• assisting with the development of offshore guidelines and assessments for wind energy projects as well as mitigation plans
• representing birds and wildlife interests as a stakeholder on various government wind energy committees.