A Sacrifice We Have To Make?
U.S. Offers Wind Industry Permits For Eagle Deaths In Effort To Balance Costs Of Renewable Energy
By DINA CAPPIELLO
WASHINGTON (AP)
The Obama administration will allow companies to seek authorization to kill and harm bald and golden eagles for up to 30 years without penalty in an effort to balance some of the environmental trade-offs of green energy.
The change, requested by the wind energy industry and officially revealed Friday, will provide legal protection for the lifespan of wind farms and other projects that obtain a permit and do everything possible to avoid killing the birds.
Companies will also have to commit to take additional measures:
i - if they exceed their permit limits or
ii - if new information suggests eagle populations are being affected.
The rule makes clear that revoking a permit is a last resort.
Right now wind farms are killing eagles in violation of the law.
(as an AP investigation has documented)
Not a single wind energy company has a permit authorizing the killing, harm or harassment of eagles, although five-year permits have been available since 2009.
That puts companies at legal risk and discourages private investment in renewable energy.
It also doesn't help eagles, since without a permit, companies are not required to take steps to reduce their impact on the birds or report when they kill them.
Conservation groups said Friday the decision by the Interior Department sanctioned the killing of America's symbol.
"Instead of balancing the need for conservation and renewable energy, Interior wrote the wind industry a blank check," Audubon President and CEO David Yarnold said in a statement. Audubon group said it would challenge the decision.
A study by federal biologists released in September found that wind farms since 2008 had killed at least 67 bald and golden eagles, a number that the researchers said was likely underestimated.
It's unclear what toll, if any, wind energy companies are having on eagle populations locally or regionally.
But with the industry still growing, the toll could grow.
Gunshots, electrocutions and poisonings likely kill more bald and golden eagles than wind farms, in the near term.
Top Renewable Energy Sources
Renewable energy made up 9 percent of all energy consumed in 2011, and that number is predicted to grow throughout the next decade. *
Here's a breakdown of the top sources of renewable energy in the country, from wind to water and everything in between.
The Obama administration will allow companies to seek authorization to kill and harm bald and golden eagles for up to 30 years without penalty in an effort to balance some of the environmental trade-offs of green energy.
The change, requested by the wind energy industry and officially revealed Friday, will provide legal protection for the lifespan of wind farms and other projects that obtain a permit and do everything possible to avoid killing the birds.
Companies will also have to commit to take additional measures:
i - if they exceed their permit limits or
ii - if new information suggests eagle populations are being affected.
The rule makes clear that revoking a permit is a last resort.
Right now wind farms are killing eagles in violation of the law.
(as an AP investigation has documented)
Not a single wind energy company has a permit authorizing the killing, harm or harassment of eagles, although five-year permits have been available since 2009.
That puts companies at legal risk and discourages private investment in renewable energy.
It also doesn't help eagles, since without a permit, companies are not required to take steps to reduce their impact on the birds or report when they kill them.
Conservation groups said Friday the decision by the Interior Department sanctioned the killing of America's symbol.
"Instead of balancing the need for conservation and renewable energy, Interior wrote the wind industry a blank check," Audubon President and CEO David Yarnold said in a statement. Audubon group said it would challenge the decision.
A study by federal biologists released in September found that wind farms since 2008 had killed at least 67 bald and golden eagles, a number that the researchers said was likely underestimated.
It's unclear what toll, if any, wind energy companies are having on eagle populations locally or regionally.
But with the industry still growing, the toll could grow.
Gunshots, electrocutions and poisonings likely kill more bald and golden eagles than wind farms, in the near term.
Top Renewable Energy Sources
Renewable energy made up 9 percent of all energy consumed in 2011, and that number is predicted to grow throughout the next decade. *
Here's a breakdown of the top sources of renewable energy in the country, from wind to water and everything in between.
*Information courtesy of the U.S. Energy Information Agency
A new plan will allow wind energy companies to kill bald and golden eagles for up to 30 years without penalty http://huff.to/1cqvNk8
