New Energy Solutions News

 As the new home of WISPIRG's environmental work, Wisconsin Environment can be contacted with any questions regarding this report.

 GREEN BAY—On the heels of the July 8th Public Service Commission's approval of the bitterly contested Forward Wind Project, a 200 MW wind farm proposed near the Horicon Marsh, WISPIRG released a new report today, The Environmental Case for Wind Power in Wisconsin. The report lays out the long-term environmental consequences of continuing to rely almost exclusively on coal and nuclear power rather than aggressively pursuing wind power to meet our growing energy needs.

"If you look at the big picture of energy production's impact on Wisconsin, from mercury in all our waters, to global warming threatening songbird's habitat, to storing hazardous nuclear waste onsite, it is obvious that wind power provides the best environmental benefits for Wisconsin's energy future" said Bruce Speight, WISPIRG Field Director.

Generating power by using fossil fuels or nuclear power imposes unbearable costs on our environment, our health, and our economy including:

• Global warming, caused by the release of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, is the most severe impact of our current energy path. Scientists have estimated that global climate change could lead to three to an eight foot drop in Lake Michigan and changing vegetation will alter wildlife population size, density, and behavior. Shifts in habitat may force as many as 35 species of birds to change their ranges to exclude Wisconsin.
• During 2003, the eight-hour health standard for ground-level ozone ("smog") was exceeded 80 times in Wisconsin, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has designated ten counties in Wisconsin as violating health standards for ozone. Ground-level ozone, which is partially caused by emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), can lead to asthma, bronchitis, increased susceptibility to bacterial infections and other respiratory problems.
• Mercury from coal power plants has contaminated the state's lakes and streams, leading to a statewide advisory on fish consumption.
• Wisconsin's aging plants generate tons of radioactive waste that will remain lethal for centuries. Wisconsin's two nuclear power plants are projected to have 1327 metric tons of spent fuel on site by 2011. These facilities have no safe storage.
• Mining for coal or for uranium destroys vast areas of habitat. A single mine can strip up to ten square miles, disrupting individual animals and in some cases entire species. Coal mining in Tennessee threatens the habitat of the Cerulean warbler, a species that is in precipitous decline.

Wind has great potential for generating electricity that we have only begun to tap. While concerns about wind power's impacts on vistas and birds and more recently on bats have slowed its development, the impacts are minor when compared to the harm caused by the mining and burning of coal and natural gas, or by nuclear power. Wind power does not contribute to global warming, and produces no air pollution or wastes. For these reasons, wind power, in combination with energy efficiency measures, constitutes one of the few sources with which to reasonably meet Wisconsin's growing electricity demand.

One study of wind turbines indicates an average of 2.3 avian fatalities at each turbine each year, for a total of 10,000 to 40,000 birds killed per year nationwide. This is far less than the number of bird fatalities due to power lines and communication towers. As more wind farms are erected in the United States, new research continues to discover ways to design and site these facilities to minimize wildlife disruption from wind farms. The report also makes recommendations about how to alleviate many of the impacts that wind turbines have on bird and bat populations.

WISPIRG supports the recommendations of the bi-partisan Task Force on Energy Conservation and Renewables to develop a plan for electric producers to provide at least 10 percent of their energy from renewable energy sources by 2015, and to develop a stable funding mechanism for energy efficiency and conservation programs. The task force is made up of utility representatives, environmental consultants, administrative officials, and legislators. We encourage the legislature to move forward with these recommendations this fall.