Vidic 2:00pm
L16
EFFECT OF WIND ENERGY ON BIRD POPULATIONS
Devon Devers (dmd118@pitt.edu)
INTRODUCTION
As engineers we are faced with ethical dilemmas at every
turn of our careers. We must rely heavily on the ethical codes
presented by the National Society of Professional Engineers
and by our respective fields to help us make informed
decisions. In addition to the National Society code of ethics,
Environmental Engineers must adhere to the codes of ethics
outlined by the American Society of Civil Engineers and have
a dual responsibility to the environment and society.
Environmental Engineers must assess each project and make
sure that the environment is being protected and that the earth
is being developed in a sustainable way.
One large environmental problem that engineers must
tackle is how to create energy in a clean and sustainable way.
The most heavily used energy sources such as coal, oil, and
natural gas pollute the environment and contribute to climate
change. This is why engineers have been developing clean
energy solutions that do not pollute the environment. One of
these clean energy solutions that has been developed is wind
turbines. These wind turbines are strategically placed in areas
with high winds and have large blades that spin a motor to
generate electricity. In recent years these wind turbines have
been installed together on the tops of ridges and other windy
areas to create large wind farms that can power whole towns.
Unfortunately, one disadvantage of this technology is the
environmental effect on birds and other wildlife surrounding
the wind farm. According to the textbook, “Power Generation
Technologies”, these turbines must have blades that are over
100 feet long and 20 feet wide [1]. When spinning these
blades can sweep a very large area that can be difficult for
birds to avoid getting hit by them. Despite this, wind energy
remains a lucrative energy source and companies are
investing into this new technology.
SCENARIO DESCRIPTION
Duke Energy, an energy company based out of Austin,
Texas, has decided to expand its wind turbine projects into the
Allegheny Ridge in Pennsylvania. They are doing this to take
advantage of the high wind speeds that exist on the ridge and
the availability of land. According to Patrick Henderson,
Pennsylvania’s first energy executive, “Pennsylvania's
topography lends itself to wind-generated energy” [2]. In
addition, Gwen Anderson, director of the St, Francis
University Renewable Energy Center says, “Ridges rising
above 2,000 feet are good locations for wind farms” [2]. The
highest point on the Allegheny Ridge stands at about 3,213
feet with an average height of about 2,512ft [3]. This makes
for an ideal average wind speed for placing turbines and
University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering 1
2015-11-3
according to a study done at St. Francis University, “The best
wind speeds are high off the ground and away from
obstructions and are usually found on ridgelines and near
Lake Erie” [4]. Finding locations for these wind farms can be
difficult, according to forester Michael Barton, who works on
a large wind farm in Pennsylvania, [5], so Duke Energy is
fortunate that they could find such a desirable location. Duke
Energy has also found land owners that have undeveloped
property on the ridge who are open to the idea of a wind farm.
The specific location of the farm is in Blair and Cambria
Counties spanning about 100 acres [5]. Duke Energy has been
negotiating a deal with the land owners for weeks and they
have finally agreed on a deal that suits both parties. Duke
Energy ended up paying about a million dollars to lease the
land from the owners. The farm will consist of 40 wind
turbines [5] and be able to generate about 80,000 kilowatts of
power [6]. This is enough capacity to power around 1200
homes and the total cost of building the turbines would be
about 160 million dollars [6]. This is one of the largest wind
projects that has been installed in Pennsylvania and would
help take reliance off of coal power in the region.
To make this all possible Duke Energy has hired my
Environmental Engineering firm to evaluate the
environmental effects of putting in the wind farm. While
putting the report together we have noticed that the Allegheny
Ridge sits right in the path of many major raptor migration
paths [4]. These ridges are ideal for migrating birds and
according to the Pennsylvania Audubon Society, “The ridges
of Pennsylvania are oriented in such a way that when
prevailing winds strike the slopes of the ridges during fall and
spring, updrafts are produced which result in optimal
soaring/gliding conditions along the ridges for migratory
raptors” [7]. There are a wide variety of raptor species such
as the American Kestrel, Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle, and
Broad-winged Hawk that migrate over this path and there are
around 20,000 raptors that could fly over in a single migration
season [7]. These migration seasons typically last around one
to two months depending on the species of raptor and mainly
occur in the fall. According to the Audubon Society there are
many risks presented by these wind farms located on
migration paths, including, “direct mortality and route
avoidance, resulting in disrupted migration patterns and
potentially excessive energy expenditure” [7]. While the
amount of birds killed directly by wind farms varies by
location, the American Bird Conservancy said that there were
about 573,000 birds killed nationwide by wind turbines in
2012 [8]. This number will obviously grow as more wind
farms are constructed and we cannot ignore the effect on the
birds. Unfortunately, we will not know exactly how many
birds are killed at the Allegheny location until the wind farm
would be constructed. But, since this location is a heavily
Devon Devers
used migration route we would expect that a large number of
raptors and other birds could be killed or their migration
patterns significantly altered [8].
Duke Energy and having a problem like this can be
detrimental. As far as site location is concerned, Duke Energy
has already invested money into the plans and other aspects
of the project, so changing the location would mean that they
would have to start over. This would mean redrawing plans,
persuading new landowners to sell their land, and conducting
new environmental impact assessments. In addition, this data
will have to be published because this project affects the
communities surrounding the land. According to the National
Society of Professional Engineers, “Engineers shall be
objective and truthful in professional reports, statements, or
testimony. They shall include all relevant and pertinent
information in such reports, statements, or testimony, which
should bear the date indicating when it was current.” [10]. The
publishing of this data could turn many people against the
project and create many problems for Duke Energy. This
includes possible site relocation, pushback from community
conservation groups, and pushback from the landowners.
Many community organizations such as local city councils
will use this as ammunition to go against the project. Many of
these groups do not want this project to happen for other
reasons such as noise and that they think the turbines are an
eyesore. They are looking for any reason to make sure this
project does not happen and this just gives them more of a
reason.
EFFECT OF BIRD LOSS ON OTHER
ECOSYSTEMS
In addition to killing birds, other ecosystems could be
effected by these altered migration routes and the reduced bird
population. The reason for this is because many of these
raptors such as the American Kestrel and Bald Eagle are
keystone species [9]. This means that they are very important
in regulating natural ecosystems and help to keep them
balanced. So the absence of these species can throw off entire
ecosystems. An example of this would be that the American
Kestrel eats many small rodents such as mice and squirrels.
Thus regulating the population of these rodents and the
species that these rodents eat [9]. These birds also serve as a
food source for many larger hawks such as the Red Tailed
Hawk, Coopers Hawk, and Peregrine Falcon [9]. This means
that a decline in American Kestrels will negatively affect
these other hawks. If the decline of just one type of raptor
could have this broad of an effect on so many other species,
imagine the impact if hundreds of species of other raptors
were killed by this wind farm. Not only will these migratory
species of birds be affected but the species that live in the
Allegheny Ridge will have their habitat destroyed by the
access roads and development of the land. Thus leading to
more ecosystem alteration and a larger effect on other species
in the forest.
Analysis of National Society Codes of Ethics
Overall the National Society of Professional Engineers
code of ethics is somewhat helpful. It gives a good framework
for how decisions can be made but can be vague at times. An
example would be that it says that I need to include all
“relevant and pertinent” [10], information in a
professional/public report. I believe that this can be very
subjective and it is up to the engineer to decide what is
“relevant”. Obviously it is difficult for these codes of ethics
to be specific for each case since there is such a wide variety
of scenarios that it can be applied to. Overall the codes need
to be taken as a guide to what to do and they are meant for
engineers to apply them to each scenario.
ETHICAL DILEMMA
After looking over and seeing the potential effects, I was
presented with an ethical dilemma. Obviously, the negative
effect on wildlife cannot be ignored and should not be taken
lightly. As an Environmental Engineer it is my responsibility
to make sure that this project has the least possible impact the
environment surrounding the farm. If I am not careful in this
situation it will reflect poorly on me and my firm. As an
Environmental Engineer I must show that I am committed to
sustainable projects and that I make sure that the projects I
approve have a minimal environmental impact. It reflects
poorly on the profession and my firm as well if I do not keep
these factors as my priority. So the first thing that I had to do
was present these findings to Duke Energy because an
engineer must be truthful with their clients and make sure that
every issue about a project is known to them. According to
the professional obligations of the ethical code of the National
Society of Professional Engineers, “Engineers shall be guided
in all their relations by the highest standards of honesty and
integrity” [10]. It is my job to make sure that the clients are
aware of all the possible impacts of their project. This can be
difficult in some situations because it is always hard to tell
clients what they don’t want to hear. This is a huge project for
Environmental Ethics
Another question that is raised in this project is, how
environmentally ethical is this project after taking into
account the effect on the birds? Installing wind turbines
themselves seems like a very ethical and environmentally
friendly way to generate power. The energy is clean and
renewable and does not impact climate change at all.
However, how can we really say that this project is
environmentally friendly if thousands of birds a year could be
impacted? The American Society of Civil Engineers outlines
ethical codes relating to environmental ethics, “Engineers
should be committed to improving the environment by
adherence to the principles of sustainable development so as
to enhance the quality of life of the general public” [11].
2
Devon Devers
Additionally, the Society of Civil Engineers, defines
sustainable development as, “the process of applying natural,
human, and economic resources to enhance the safety,
welfare, and quality of life for all of the society while
maintaining the availability of the remaining natural
resources” [11]. This definition states that projects must
enhance the quality of life for, “all of society”, which I
interpret to mean birds and animals as well. While the project
enhances the quality of life for humans, it does so at the
expense of harming a part of the environmental society. This
section from the Society of Civil Engineers on environmental
ethics is very useful to my scenario because it outlines the
responsibility that engineers have to develop projects that are
environmentally sustainable. In my scenario the effect on
birds is not very environmentally sustainable and this fact
needs to be addressed when I am making my decision.
I recently took a trip to an actual wind farm located on the
Allegheny Ridge and heard from the lead forester, Michael
Barton. This definitely is someone who I could talk to about
the ethics and the environmental impact of the wind farm. He
said that bird deaths were a big issue on his project, but the
project was built in a way that could minimize the effect on
bird populations [5]. He said that in the fall during bird
migration, these turbines are actually shut off during peak
migration hours. This is not detrimental to the project because
he said that the wind speeds are not as high during the fall, so
it is not detrimental if the turbines are turned off [5]. In this
case the environmental impacts are greater than the amount of
power produced, so this solution has worked. He said that it
can be difficult to balance all of the conflicting interests of the
community, land owners, and energy companies in these
projects. However, his perspective would be very similar to
mine as an Environmental Engineer, so he is a good person to
talk to.
Another source that I consulted was my father, my dad is
an avid bird watcher and is a member of the local bird
watching center. He said that projects like these can hurt bird
watching tourism a lot because many birds may take alternate
routes to avoid wind turbines or be killed by turbines [13]. He
said that if there was a wind project that would affect our local
bird watching center he would be against it [13]. It is amazing
to him that the raptors fly so far on their migration routes and
always enjoys when they fly near our house. So, it would be
a shame for him to see wind turbines kill the bird watching
culture in our area. He also said that even if birds are not
directly killed by the turbines, the interruption of their
migration patterns can be detrimental [13]. One effect of this
would be that they may not be able to get to their final
migration location, thus throwing off the migration pattern
that the species has followed for thousands of years.
EXAMPLES
One wind project in Lake Erie was actually shut down by
the American Wind Conservancy in 2014 because of the
projected effect on endangered birds [12]. The reasons that
this project was shut down was because the wind farm posed
a threat to endangered songbirds such as the Kirtland Warbler,
Bald Eagles, and many raptors [12]. Another reason that this
project was stopped was that the wind farm could have a very
large effect on the bird watching tourism in the area. It was
stated that visiting birders injected over 37 million dollars into
the local economy [12]. In my situation there are not nearly
as many endangered species that could be effected and there
is not as large of a bird watching tour base in the area because
the farm would be on private land. In comparison to this
example the Duke Energy wind farm has less environmental
impact and this example helps put my project into prospective
with other projects.
A second example that helped me make my decision is an
article from the Pennsylvania Audubon Society. The article
discusses the design and citing recommendations that
engineers should follow when thinking about placing these
wind farms. The society says that the wind farm should not be
placed on major migration routes and that we should attempt
to minimize breaking up intact forest blocks when creating
roads and drawing designs [7]. The society also says that
when these wind farms are constructed the effect of the wind
farms on birds must be studied closely by a third party [7].
This helps them keep watch on the effects of the farm and can
help aid in design recommendations in the future. Having a
third part monitor the effects on birds also helps minimize
conflicts of interest in the study and helps make sure that the
data is being recorded truthfully and accurately.
FINAL DECISION
I must decide whether or not the clean power and
minimized pollution outweighs the fact that many bird species
could be harmed or killed. Since this project is in the way of
a major migration pattern and has the potential to have a major
effect on birds, the best choice is to either move the project or
at least develop it in a way that minimizes the effect on birds.
Of these two options the better option would be to move the
project to another location. More research would have to be
done to find a different location, if one exists. Either way, I
need to find a solution because telling Duke Energy that the
project cannot be built is unrealistic. This project will
generate power for entire towns and has the potential to
eliminate a significant amount of pollution from our
environment. In addition the Allegheny ridge has ideal wind
speeds and has enough available land. We just need to find
ways of building these wind turbines so that the effect on birds
is minimal. This could include turning the wind farms off
during times of the day when raptor traffic is the heaviest or
relocating some of the turbines on the project to avoid major
CONSULTATION OF ADDITIONAL
SOURCES
3
Devon Devers
collision areas. Another solution according the American
Bird Conservancy would be making companies compensate
for the loss of ecologically-important raptors [8]. This means
that energy companies would have to pay for any birds that
are killed by turbines. This gives companies incentives to
make sure that wind turbines are placed in areas that have the
least effect on birds. While these solutions cannot stop bird
deaths from happening, they can significantly minimize them.
Before making a final decision I would have to inform Duke
Energy of the possible options and strike a balance that
minimizes environmental impact.
http://app.knovel.com/hotlink/toc/id:kpWPICSO03/windpower-integration/wind-power-integration
[7] K. Van Fleet. (2012). “Ridgetop Important Bird Areas,
Raptors, and Wind Turbines.” (Online Article)
http://pa.audubon.org/newsroom/newsstories/2012/ridgetop-important-bird-areas-raptors-andwind-turbines
[8] American Bird Conservancy. (2015). “Bird-Smart Wind
Energy: Protecting Birds from Poorly Sited Wind Turbines”.
(Online Article)
http://abcbirds.org/program/wind-energy/
[9] A. Pacific. (2014). American Kestrel. (Online Article)
http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/150022
[10] National Society of Professional Engineers. (2007).
“Code of Ethics for Engineers”. (Online Article).
http://www.nspe.org/sites/default/files/resources/pdfs/Ethics/
CodeofEthics/Code-2007-July.pdf
[11] American Society of Civil Engineers. (2006). “Code of
Ethics”. (Online Article).
http://www.asce.org/uploadedFiles/About_ASCE/Ethics/Co
ntent_Pieces/CodeofEthics2006.pdf
[12] American Bird Conservancy. (January 29, 2014). “Camp
Perry Wind Turbine Project Halted Following Threat to Sue
and Petition. (Online Article)
http://abcbirds.org/article/camp-perry-wind-turbine-projecthalted-following-threat-to-sue-and-petition-campaign/
[13] P. Devers. (2015, October 28th). Interview
ADVICE TO FUTURE ENGINEERS
When facing ethical dilemmas the best thing an engineer
can do is to look at the scenario from many different
perspectives and be well informed. I had to look at this
scenario from the perspectives of my engineering firm, Duke
Energy, bird conservation groups, and people close to me. I
then had to take all of these different viewpoints and use them
to help synthesize my own opinion of the scenario. This
framework can be applied to other ethical dilemmas as well
and can be useful for many other engineers. Another source
that is useful are case studies that relate to your ethical
scenario. This helps you see what engineers have done in the
past and may be directly applicable to your scenario. Many
times it is unclear what to do in an ethical dilemma. However,
there are many resources to turn to and people that can help
you out. Making ethical decisions can be tough sometimes,
but we have enough resources around us and enough
education to make informed decisions.
ADDITIONAL SOURCES
National Institute for Engineering Ethics. “An Unsettling
Situation- 1015”. (Case Study)
www.dept.ttu.edu/murdoughcenter/products/cases.php
Online Ethics Resource Center for Science and Engineering.
(2006). “Exceeding Pollution Limits”. (Case Study).
http://www.onlineethics.org/Resources/Cases/Pollution.aspx
E. Karagianis (1999) "The Right Stuff. A Question of Ethics."
(Case
Study)
http://web.mit.edu/giving/spectrum/winter99/stuff.html
REFERENCES
[1] P. Breeze. (2014). “Power Generation Technologies”.
Elsevier. (Online Textbook).
http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/09/f26/OffshoreWind-Projects-2006-2015_091815.pdf
[2] J. Napsha. (2011), “Pennsylvania’s Wind Power Industry
Grows”. (Online Article)
http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_772572.html#
axzz3pn0MKcSF
[3] Allegheny Mountains. (2015). Encyclopædia Britannica.
(Online Encyclopedia)
http://www.britannica.com/place/Allegheny-Mountains
[4] St. Francis University Institute for Energy. (2015). “PA
Wind Resource Map”. (Online Article)
http://francis.edu/wind-energy-maps-services/#WindMap
[5]M. Barton. (2015, October 3rd). Allegheny Wind Farm
Tour. (Tour/Interview)
[6] B. Fox, B. Bryans, L. Flynn, D. Jenkins, N. Milborrow,
D. O'Malley, M. Watson, R. Anaya-Lara. (2014). “Wind
Power Integration: Connection and System Operational
Aspects” (2nd Edition). Institution of Engineering and
Technology. (Online textbook)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my writing instructor Amanda Brant
for her advice on my topic choice and my friend Isaac Cook
for looking over my formatting. I would also like to thank
Anne Schwan in the library for helping me with my citations.
4
Devon Devers
5