Читать книгу Wind Power Basics - Dan Chiras - Страница 13

One perceived problem with wind power is bird mortality. Unfortunately, this issue has been blown way out of proportion. Although a bird may occasionally perish in the spinning blades of a residential wind machine, this is an extremely rare occurrence. Ian is aware of only one instance of a bird kill, when a hawk flew into a small wind turbine.“Because of their relatively smaller blades and short tower heights, home-sized wind machines are considered too small and too dispersed to present a threat to birds,” notes Mick Sagrillo in his article, “Wind Turbines and Birds,” published by Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s renewable energy program.

The only documented bird mortality of any significance occurs at large commercial-scale wind turbines — but even then, the number of deaths is relatively small. Commercial wind turbines kill an estimated 50,000 birds per year. While this may sound like a lot, this number pales in comparison to other lethal forces, among them domestic cats, automobiles, windows in buildings, and communication towers. All in all, cats are probably the most lethal “force” that birds encounter. Scientists estimate that our beloved cats kill about 270 million birds a year nationwide — though the number is very likely much higher.