Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee January 2008 David J. Stout Chief, Division of Habitat and Resource Conservation Committee Chairman and Designated Federal Officer Wind Energy: A National Perspective U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service • 2006: US 3rd highest cumulative wind capacity globally (13,078 MW) • Texas has the most installed wind capacity, followed by California, and Iowa • Wind development in the US is expected to increase by 25-30% in 2007 Wind Energy: A National Perspective POTENTIAL THE TOP TWENTY STATES FOR WIND ENERGY as measured by annual energy potential in the billions of kWh, factoring in environmental and land use exclusions for wind class of 3 and higher. B kWh/Yr B kWh/Yr U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 1. 2. North Dakota Texas 1,210 1,190 1,070 1,030 1,020 11. Colorado 12. New Mexico 13. Idaho 14. Michigan 15. New York 481 435 73 65 62 3. Kansas 4. South Dakota 5. Montana 6. Nebraska 7. Wyoming 868 747 16. Illinois 17. California 61 59 8. Oklahoma 9. Minnesota 725 657 18. Wisconsin 19. Maine 58 56 Source: An Assessment of the Available Windy Land Area and Wind Energy Potential in the Contiguous United States, Pacific Northwest Laboratory, August 1991. PNL-7789 10. Iowa 551 20. Missouri 52 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Wind Energy: DOI Perspective • ~ 80% of US installed wind capacity is on Federal lands • 46% BLM-managed land has commercial wind energy potential • MMS has authority in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to permit offshore wind, wave and other alternative energy facilities • FWS developed voluntary, interim guidelines to minimize and avoid the potential impacts of landbased wind turbines on wildlife. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee: Background • 2003: Service published Interim Guidelines to Avoid and Minimize Wildlife Impacts from Wind Turbines • 2005: Service threatened with litigation because of efforts to update interim guidelines outside of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) process U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee: Background • 2007: Formation of a Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee, and call for nominations • Service recommended 22 individuals after evaluating nominees using criteria published in the Federal Register • Secretary appointed 22 Committee members and signed the Charter on October 26, 2007 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Committee Members Dr. Taber Allison, Massachusetts Audubon Society Mr. Michael Azeka, AES Wind Generation Ms. Kathy Boydston, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Mr. Mike Daulton, National Audubon Society Ms. Aimee Delach, Defenders of Wildlife Mr. Greg Hueckel, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Ms. Jeri Lawrence, Blackfeet Nation Mr. Steve Lindenberg, Department of Energy Mr. Andrew O. Linehan, PPM Energy Mr. Robert Manes, The Nature Conservancy, Kansas Dr. James Russell Mason, Nevada Department of Wildlife Ms. Winifred Perkins, Florida Power and Light Company Mr. Steven Quarles, Crowell & Moring LLP Mr. Rich Rayhill, Ridgeline Energy, LLC Dr. Robert Robel, Kansas State University Mr. Keith Sexson, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Mr. Mark Sinclair, Clean Energy States Alliance/Clean Energy Group Mr. David J. Stout, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Committee Structure • David J. Stout: Chairman and Designated Federal Officer • Abby Arnold: Facilitator • Technical Subcommittee • Interagency Caucus U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Committee Scope and Objective The Committee will provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior on developing effective measures to avoid or minimize impacts to wildlife and their habitats related to land-based wind energy facilities U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Issues Raised • Facilitator Abby Arnold conducted interviews in spring and fall of 2007 • Susan Goodwin, DOI, conducted interviews with other Federal agencies • Issues raised fell into several categories: – Process – Policy – Technical U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Process Issues •“What would the Service consider success?” • Federal standard vs. voluntary guidance • Service commitment to use of Committee recommendations? • Start with current draft voluntary guidelines? U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Policy Issues • • • • Federal role in reviewing wind permits Coordination with State policy – consistency with State guidelines Wind development on Tribal lands Leadership opportunities to develop recommendations that address Federal framework (beyond FWS) Wind in context with other current issues Models for framework: HCPs, Oil & Gas recovery plans, Avian Protection Plans What kind of framework will incentivize industry to minimize impacts? Precedent for green technologies • • • • U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service • Research questions Technical Issues • Risk-based determinations/Context of risk • What is the state of the science; what are the best methods to assess impact; minimize impact? • Study sites representative of different regional characteristics for a more comprehensive analysis of impacts • Focus on populations, not individuals • Scoring or ranking sites used in interim guidelines unfeasible due to lack of hard science • Methodology for pre- and post-assessment U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service • Interest in regular interagency communication Other Issues Raised by Federal Agencies • Will FWS guidelines be applied to public lands? • Need consistency with other federal guidelines and in application • Opportunity to identify and fill research gaps and distribute information • What will be the intersection of NEPA, ESA, and MBTA? U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Service Responsibilities • Committee reports to the Secretary through the Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service • Committee Chairman and Designated Federal Officer responsibilities • FWS Technical Advisory Team U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Service Program Participation • Outreach to Regional and Field Staff – Regular e-mail updates and conference calls • FWS Technical Advisory Group • Attendance at Committee meetings (limited) U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee: DOI Participation • How can DOI bureaus: – Keep informed? http://www.fws.gov/habitatconservation/win dpower/windturbine_advisory_committee.h tml – Provide comment? There will be opportunity to comment at all Committee meetings – Be involved? Participate in the Federal caucus U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Draft Road Map U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service FWS Contacts Dave Stout – Committee Chairman and DFO Chief, Division of Habitat and Resource Conservation 703-358-2161 Dave_Stout@fws.gov George Allen Chief, Branch of Policies, Permits & Regulations 703-358-1825 George_T_Allen@fws.gov Rachel London Fish and Wildlife Biologist