Extensive costs for bird kills at Altamont Killing Fields
Wind turbines at the Altamont Pass
By John Upton|December 7, 2010 1:18 p.m. |In Environment
Notorious raptor-killing wind turbines that cover agricultural land at the Altamont Pass on the eastern edge of the Bay Area will be replaced over four years in an effort to reduce bird deaths by 50 percent, under a lawsuit settlement agreement announced by Attorney General Jerry Brown.
The 5,400 first-generation turbines at the site, which are decades old, will be replaced or switched off by 2015. The California Energy Commission determined that the machines kill 1,766 to 4,271 birds annually.
The agreement settles lawsuits filed by nonprofits Californians for Renewable Energy and the Audubon Society.
Local coverage of the story is found here: Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle and Contra Costa Times.
