March 3, 2005
Wind companies working to reduce avian collisions at the Altamont Pass; companies take unprecedented step of proposing “seasonal shutdowns” to minimize bird mortalities

Oakland, CA -- A collection of wind energy producers, including FPL Energy, LLC, Global Renewable Energy Partners Inc., enXco Inc., and Altamont Winds Inc., today announced their commitment to taking aggressive action to significantly reduce avian mortalities in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area.

“The turbine owners are concerned about the avian issues in the Altamont and we are committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders on this issue,” said Bryan Fennell, vice president of business management for FPL Energy, representing the Altamont wind power companies. “While we are working to reduce avian collisions in the Altamont it is important to remember the critical role wind energy plays in reducing the environmental impacts of other forms of power generation while at the same time enhancing the diversity and reliability of the state’s energy system.”

The companies have announced a goal of a 35 percent reduction in raptor mortality at Altamont in the next three years, taking the unprecedented step of proposing seasonal shutdowns for thousands of wind turbines. The turbine owners have joined in support of an adaptive management plan, which is designed to help achieve these reductions while allowing the projects to operate in an economically viable fashion. Elements of the adaptive management plan include:

• Seasonal shutdowns of one half of Altamont’s 5000+ turbines during all of November and December, alternating with the second half being shut down during January and February;
• Permanent relocation or shutdown of approximately 100 of the highest risk turbines;
• Retrofitting power poles to prevent bird electrocutions;
• Removal of derelict turbines, towers and overhead lines;
• Scientific monitoring; and
• Commitment to repowering.

In response to heightened concerns, the companies have implemented a number of measures in recent years to reduce avian mortalities, including removing high risk turbines and retrofitting utility structures to reduce electrocution hazards. For example, the FPL Energy/GREP partnership has already removed or taken out of service approximately 10 percent of the turbines it operates in Altamont, including removing 169 turbines and replacing them with 31 modern turbines and shutting down and either removing or relocating nearly 100 additional turbines in areas identified as having a high potential for interaction with birds. Another company, enXco, voluntarily shut down 109 turbines at one of its Altamont projects for the month of January 2005 to explore aspects of the seasonal shutdown measure.

An anomaly for the wind industry, Altamont experiences higher raptor mortality rates than any other wind project area in the U.S. For this reason, solutions proposed for Altamont (e.g. seasonal shutdowns) are not appropriate for wind farms using modern technology or in other regions.

A major study published by the California Energy Commission in 2004 supports replacing the older wind turbines prevalent in the Altamont area (which was a world pioneer in wind development in the 1980s) with modern wind turbine technology less dangerous to birds. The process of replacing older wind turbines with modern ones, known as “repowering,” is considered the principle long term solution to reducing avian
mortality in the Altamont. In the short term, the companies are pursuing the steps outlined above to obtain significant near term reductions. This provides a needed bridge enabling the long term repowering plans to be instituted on a project specific basis.

Dr. James A. Walker, CEO of enXco said, “Alameda County has been a world pioneer in the development of wind energy. The companies here take their responsibilities to the environment and to California’s energy needs seriously. The measures to be implemented under the plan presented today will help reduce avian mortality significantly in the near term, while contributing to clean, economical wind power production over the long term. To achieve these shared goals the support of all stakeholders is necessary.”

While acknowledging the critical importance of reducing raptor mortality rates at Altamont Pass, the companies stressed the importance of keeping the issue in proper perspective. Overall, out of every 10,000 birds killed annually in the U.S. by human related causes (e.g. buildings, cats, communication towers, vehicles and pesticides), less than one is killed by wind farms. In addition, while there is no energy form without some level of environmental impact, wind power compares very favorably with conventional fossil and nuclear power sources.

The environmental benefits of wind energy include protecting air quality, mitigating global climate change, and displacing mining and drilling for natural gas, coal and other fossil fuels. Taken together, the 580 megawatts of wind production at the Altamont make the following contributions:

• Reducing air emission annually by the equivalent of 1.2 billion pounds of CO2, 183,000 pounds of NOx, 161,000 pounds of particulates, and 12,000 pounds of SOx;
• Avoiding annual consumption of conventional fuels equivalent to 3.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas, or 152,000 tons of coal, or enough nuclear fuel to create 7,000 pounds of high level nuclear waste;
• Reducing water consumption by 282 million gallons per year;
• Generating enough electrical energy to serve the equivalent of 180,000 homes; and
• Providing more than $500 million in local economic benefits over the past 20 years.

FPL Energy is a leading wholesale generator utilizing clean fuels such as natural gas, wind, solar, hydroelectric and nuclear to generate electricity. It is the nation's leader in wind energy, with 43 wind facilities in operation in 15 states. It is a subsidiary of FPL Group, one of the nation's largest providers of electricity-related services. FPL Group's principal subsidiary is Florida Power & Light Company, one of the nation's largest electric utilities, serving more than 4.2 million customer accounts in Florida. Additional information is available on the Internet at www.FPLEnergy.com, www.FPLGroup.com and www.FPL.com.