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05/07/2008
Canadian Wind Energy Association responds to comments made by Alberta Premier Stelmach regarding wind turbine bird fatalities
Canadian Wind Energy Association responds to comments made by Alberta Premier Stelmach regarding wind turbine bird fatalities
CanWEA's response to Premier Stelmach
(Ottawa) – The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) has responded to comments made by Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach in which he claimed that the recent death of hundreds of ducks on an oilsands tailings pond was insignificant when compared to deaths caused by wind turbines.
In his letter to the Premier, Robert Hornung, CanWEA President pointed out that the number of birds in Canada killed in wind turbine collisions is estimated to be around 1000 annually; in Alberta about 150 per year.
A 2001 study by the National Wind Coordinating Committee (NWCC) (http://www.west-inc.com/reports/avian_collisions.pdf) estimated bird deaths from wind turbines in the United States at between 10,000 and 40,000 per year, or an average of 2 birds per turbine per year. In terms of overall bird fatalities, this equates to less than 1 in every 10,000 coming as a direct result of wind turbine collisions, compared to 1060 killed by domestic cats.
These same wind turbines produce no greenhouse gas emissions and help to address the single largest threat to bird populations – climate change. In his letter, Mr. Hornung noted that the comments made by Premier Stelmach may be misunderstood when taken out of context. He also recognized that Alberta is currently Canada’s leader in terms of installed wind energy capacity and has only scratched the surface of this province’s tremendous wind energy opportunity.
The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) represents more than 300 companies involved in Canada’s wind energy industry, including wind turbine manufacturers, component suppliers, wind energy project developers and owners, and a broad range of service providers to the wind industry.
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For more information, please contact: Ulrike Kucera, Media Relations (613) 234-8716 ext. 228 or (613) 867-4433
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