FEARS THAT PROPOSED LAKE ERIE WINDFARM WILL DECIMATE WATERBIRDS AND MIGRATING SONGBIRDS

Kirtland's warbler - one of the vulnerable species

PLANS to build a windfarm in Lake Erie offshore of Cleveland, Ohio, have outraged American birders. 

They say the turbines - six in the initial phase - would pose substantial collision risks to the enormous numbers of birds that use the area throughout the year.

These include large concentrations of migrating songbirds as great northern divers - known in the US as loons - and "globally significant" populations of red-breasted mergansers and other waterfowl. 

Furthermore, it is feared construction and increased vessel traffic associated with the project could pollute the waters used by these species. 

The project is being spearheaded by the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation both with  public and with a substantial contribution from Fred Olsen Renewables (FOR) which hopes to be involved.

FOR is part  of the Oslo-based conglomerate which also operates much else including ferry services and cruise holidays. 

The American Bird Conservancy and the Black Swamp Bird Observatory have filed a suit in federal court against the US Department of Energy and US Army Corps of Engineers on the grounds that these two  agencies have failed to  evaluate environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives that would reduce the project's impacts.

“We regret that legal action is our only recourse,” says Mike Parr, ABC's president. “The agencies did not give this project the careful evaluation it requires under applicable environmental laws. 

"In addition, American tax dollars are paying for more than a third of the project cost.

"Why are US taxpayer dollars supporting this in the first place? 

"Migratory birds are a common good of the American people,”
“The government has a duty to protect them."

If approved, the windfarm project - known as Icebreaker - would be the first freshwater offshore wind facility in the Great Lakes and only the second offshore farmin the United States. 

The site selected by the developer - the Central Basin of Lake Erie - draws millions of birds annually. 

Radar studies conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service  have recorded large numbers of migratory birds and bats near Great Lakes shorelines, including Lake Erie's south shore. 

Many were flying at altitudes that would be within the rotor-swept area of wind turbines, making these birds susceptible to collision-related deaths, injuries, and disturbances.

The Kirtland's Warbler is one such species. 

After more than 50 years on the endangered species list, this species has just been delisted and added to the list of successes under the Endangered Species Act.

 “Many agencies, NGOs, and other partners have worked for decades to see the Kirtland's Warbler recover from the brink of extinction,” said Joel Merriman, Director of ABC's Bird-Smart Wind Energy campaign. 

“We have no wish to see this undermined by an inadequately vetted energy project.”

Of further concern is that  Icebreaker is what is known as "a demonstration project". 

Its approval could become a benchmark for hundreds, possibly thousands, of additional turbines expected to be proposed for the Great Lakes over the coming decades. 

“We need renewable energy development to combat the effects of climate change, but it needs to be done right,” continues Mr  Merriman. 

“We must ensure that we are not creating new problems in the process by building turbines in high-risk areas for birds. 

"This precedent-setting project needs to take the proper steps to demonstrate that the benefits outweigh the risks.”

The complaint seeks to require that the U.S. Department of Energy complete an EIS and comprehensive cumulative impacts assessment, and that both agencies complete a legally adequate alternatives analysis.

“Data published in September showed that North America has already lost around 29 percent of its bird population,” added Mr Parr. 

“This project is an example of how birds are routinely ignored when business decisions are involved. 

"Since birds are a public good,  the agencies should be doing a much better job here.”

American Bird Conservancy and Black Swamp Bird Observatory are being represented by the public interest environmental law firm Eubanks & Associates, LLC.

Despite the legal challenge, the organisations behind the project are confident it will go ahead.

They say an environmental assessment concluded that there would be "no significant impact".

Below is what else they have to say.

Icebreaker Wind is a unique wind energy project - the first offshore wind facility in the Great Lakes, the first freshwater wind farm in North America, and only the second offshore wind project in the entire US. 

Very simply, it offers Ohio the opportunity to become a national leader in this nascent industry.

Founded in 2009, the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) is a non-profit, public-private partnership, leading efforts to build a sustainable offshore wind energy industry in the Great Lakes. 

LEEDCo represents Northern Ohio's public interest in offshore wind through its mission to 1) create a scalable source of renewable energy in Lake Erie; 2) create jobs and economic prosperity in the region; and 3) help clean our air and water resources. 

The vision is a robust offshore wind industry by 2030 that will have significant impact on the economic and environmental state of the region.

The first step is the Icebreaker Wind Project, a 20.7 MW demonstration wind farm that will consist of six 3.45 MW turbines located eight miles north of Cleveland, Ohio. 

Lake Erie is an ideal location for offshore wind, with ample available interconnect capacity, large load centres along the coast, growing energy demand due to existing plant retirements, a strong manufacturing base and limited other sources of renewable energy.

The project will use the innovative Mono Bucket (MB) as the turbine foundation, a technology that will reduce both costs and environmental impacts for the offshore wind industry. 

This game-changing technology combines the benefits of a gravity base, a monopile and a suction bucket. 

It is perfect for the Great Lakes geology and avoids the pile driving needed to install traditional monopile and jacket foundations for offshore wind turbines.  

Pile driving has been shown to produce noise that has been linked to adverse impacts on marine mammals in the Atlantic.

The developer's outline map of what is proposed

* Top photo: Jeol Trick/snowmanradio/Wikimedia Commons

Available as an e-book via Kindle:
A Fault to Nature - Birds, Migration and The Problem with Windfarms