PA WIND PROTECTS WILDLIFE

Game Commission Releases First Wind Energy Annual Report
January 23, 2009 (Pennsylvania Game Commission)

"As Pennsylvania and the nation seek alternative sources of energy, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has released its [PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION WIND ENERGY VOLUNTARY COOPERATION AGREEMENT FIRST ANNUAL REPORT] about the results of the voluntary agreement between the agency and 20 wind energy companies who have vowed to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts on wild birds and mammals in the Commonwealth…

"On April 18, 2007, the first 12 wind energy companies signed the agreement at a public ceremony in the Game Commission’s Harrisburg headquarters. Since that time, an additional eight companies have signed the voluntary agreement, which requires the companies to work with the Game Commission to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts on wild birds and mammals. The agreement also requires companies to report one year of pre-construction surveys of wild birds and mammals in the project area, as well as two years of post-construction monitoring for mortality of birds and mammals in the project area.

"The data made available for this annual report was made possible by pooling information from the 20 wind energy companies who signed the Game Commission’s Wind Energy Voluntary Cooperative Agreement."

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"Due to all the collaborative effort between the wind industry and Game Commission…the agreement has and will continue to provide all involved parties with valuable information needed in order to best manage for wildlife at wind energy sites…

"To assist in the development of wind energy in Pennsylvania in an environmentally responsible manner, Gov. Rendell convened the Pennsylvania Wind and Wildlife Collaborative, chaired by John Quigley of the Pennsylvania DCNR, which is a compilation of wind industry developers, natural resource agencies, and varied nongovernmental organizations…The Game Commission and many of the wind energy developers were dedicated to promoting renewable energy initiatives and arriving at uniform guidance, in the absence of comprehensive state regulations, to determine how best to avoid, minimize, and/or potentially mitigate adverse impacts to wildlife resources.

"…Thus, the voluntary cooperative agreement was developed in an effort to standardize wildlife monitoring protocols and wildlife impact review methods associated with the development of wind energy projects in a mutually beneficial and flexible manner and with high regard to both parties’ goals and objectives…"