Altamont Pass Wind Turbines
On July 7, 2005, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors decided that over a 13 year period the 5,400 Altamont Pass wind turbines will be torn down and replaced by newer and larger windmills that may be safer for the birds. The locations of the wind turbines will also be altered in an attempt to avoid the birds’ flight paths. The supervisors required this phase-in overhaul of the Altamont wind farms in an effort to protect the raptors and thousands of other species killed by flying into the spinning blades. The cost is estimated to be more than $540 million. The environmental community requested total winter shutdowns of the windmills, a move supported by the office of the Attorney General, Bill Lockyer. Lockyer’s office also recommended more stringent measures and a faster Supervisors’ decision is to attain a fifty per cent decrease in bird deaths over the next five years. Wildlife groups suggested that even more measures would be needed to reach the 50% mark in five years. The Board of Supervisors will vote to make the decision final in September.