Will Renewable Energy Be The End Of The Sage Grouse In Wyoming?
Despite studies which have shown that Wyoming has wind resources consistent with utility-scale production, the state’s Governor recently announced a decision to block future wind-turbine development in about 20 percent of the state in a move to protect the greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), a species that might soon be included on the Endangered Species List.
Although we want to find and implement sources of energy that will allow us to live in harmony with the natural world, it’s easy to forget that even though its ultimately cleaner and better for the environment, renewable energy can still find itself in conflict with the planet that it is designed to protect.
Natural resources still have to be used to produce the turbines and motors; natural spaces will still have to be disturbed in order to install them.
The situation in Wyoming presents an interesting “chicken or the egg” type conundrum: is it more important to implement a large scale renewable energy project that will help to reduce air pollution and climate change, ultimately protecting the sage grouse, or to delay this development of wind power production because it might disturb the dwindling grouse population?
According to a report in Reuters, Governor Dave Freudenthal assumed this posture in an attempt to preempt stricter development regulations that would result, should the bird actually be placed on the Endangered List.
In a state that is desperate for an economic rejuvenation through wind power development, regulations making it more difficult to create an economically viable wind project could be significant setback.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has until February 26 to decide whether or not to list the greater sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act. Currently the BLM is working to identify key grouse habitat in an attempt to find a way to “allow energy developments such as wind turbines in areas not seen as absolutely crucial to the bird’s continued existence.”
Thankfully, the new rules also mean that in some areas future developments by the oil and gas industry would be restricted to one drilling location, or pad, per square mile (2.6 square km).
What do you think? Which is more important: wind energy or the grouse? This situation is likely to pop up in other states, with other species: is there a simple solution to coexistence?
It is a dilemma indeed. And a complicated one at that. On the surface, it looks like a choice or dichotomy has been set up between wind power and the sage grouse. This may or may not be a false choice: Biologists disagree on the actual impacts that turbines might have on the grouse. But that aside, the issue is further complicated by the dichotomy that has arisen between the oil and gas industry and wind power, regarding the sage grouse. And, in fact, wind power is disproportionately bearing the burden of the sage grouse protection rules (as opposed to oil and gas). For more, see here:
http://www.hcn.org/issues/41.22/wind-resistance
It's always a conundrum…animals or man's needs? I'm glad I don't have to make those types of decisions.
This seems to be something that it would be pretty easy to solve. Test out installing the turbines in a limited area, and see what effect it has on the populations. This could have several benefits…if it's done over time, new techniques for installation might be developed that minimize impact on the habitat. Information also might be gathered about timing of the installations.
It could be that the habitat is disturbed more during installation than during long-term maintenance. In this case, staggering the installations rather than doing them all at once would be a solution.
This approach might have hidden benefits. Perhaps over time, the wind turbines might become cheaper, or new turbines might become available.
Rarely is anything gained by doing massive projects all at once. That's not only a way to open the door up to possible ecological disaster, but it's a risky business decision as well. Here in the United States we have a tendency to favor big projects, and I think that's a shame. Maybe these problems would go away if we took more gradual, incremental approaches to problems?
Wind power is a good source of electricity but it also takes up lots of space just like solar power plants.“*