“‘The Altamont is killing more eagles than the local population can reproduce,’ says [Doug] Bell [wildlife program manager at the East Bay Regional Park District] who does research on golden eagles. ‘It’s taking out more youngsters than they can produce and replace themselves with. Their population is going down the drain’.”

The wind energy company that received a controversial extension this March to continue operating hundreds of old wind turbines in the Altamont Pass is now planning to shut them down, according to an email KQED has obtained. The company might also be replacing them with fewer new turbines, a move that would make its operation safer for birds.

Altamont Winds, Inc. (AWI), one of the largest operators in the East Bay’s Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, told the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in an Oct.…

“When you can no longer hide and you have not obeyed the law, just ask your friends in Congress to bail you out. This is what this bill [H.R. 493] represents.”

For those that do not believe America has lost its way, all one has to do is look at the relationship between the wind industry and Washington D.C.  Unbiased observers will see a shell-game democracy funneling out untold billions for a highly destructive and inefficient “energy strategy.” One of the primary benefactors of this arrangement is a Washington-based group of panhandlers know as the wind industry. But this industry’s windfall set-up with Washington is threatened because word of wind power’s undisclosed impacts is reaching the public.

Profits at Risk

In the last several years it has come to the attention of the American people that the wind industry is not what it appears to be.…

“The courts must reject the PacifiCorp request that eagle mortality data be kept confidential and hidden from public scrutiny. Moreover, Congress, the news media, environmental groups, and concerned citizens everywhere must demand that the information be released in its entirety….  Every industry must be treated the same under our endangered species, migratory bird, and other laws.”

For decades wind industry research has been using “studies” that are actually designed to hide the harmful impacts of wind turbines. Industry-related studies on health impacts, declining real estate values, whooping crane surveys, golden eagle surveys, turbines preventing climate change, wind turbine energy potential, and, especially, bird and bat mortality, have all been manipulated through fraudulent data collection methodologies.

These data collection methods have enabled the U.S. wind industry to hide 90% or more of turbine avian and bat mortality, in my estimation, from public view.…

The Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED) is an informal coalition of individuals and organizations interested in improving national, state, and local energy & environmental policies. Our basic position is that technical matters like these should be addressed by using Real Science. It’s all spelled out at WiseEnergy.org, which is a wealth of energy and environmental resources.

A key element of AWED’s efforts is public education. Towards that end, every 3 weeks we put together a newsletter to balance what is found in the mainstream media about energy and environmental matters. We appreciate MasterResource for their assistance in publishing this information.

—————————

Greed Energy Economics:

As Hawaii Prepares for Utility Reform, the State’s Solar Industry Sheds 3,000 Workers

The Dumb Ways We Subsidize Renewable Energy

Paying wind developers to not produce electricity, etc.…