Renewable Energy Technology Assessments - Kauai Island Utility ...
Renewable Energy Technology Assessments - Kauai Island Utility ...
Renewable Energy Technology Assessments - Kauai Island Utility ...
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Kaua’i <strong>Island</strong> <strong>Utility</strong> Cooperative<br />
<strong>Renewable</strong> <strong>Energy</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> <strong>Assessments</strong> 9.0 Wind<br />
site, Kalaheo, seems to have this type of a profile. The technology is modular in scale<br />
and, as such, an appropriate size project has been identified in dialogue with KIUC such<br />
that it will be readily integrated at a reasonable cost.<br />
9.7.2 Environmental Impact<br />
Wind is a fuel free energy source and as such has significant emissions reduction<br />
benefits. These reductions are beneficial for local air quality and for meeting current and<br />
future emissions regulations.<br />
Impact to native birds and bats should be studied and addressed to ensure that the<br />
wind turbines will not have a detrimental impact. In general, siting of wind turbines to<br />
avoid bird and bat feeding routes and migratory paths can effectively minimize bird and<br />
bat mortality to a negligible level. The Newell’s Shearwater (NS), a threatened bird<br />
species on <strong>Kauai</strong>, is of particular concern. The NS is found mainly on <strong>Kauai</strong> and their<br />
numbers are decreasing over time in spite of conservation efforts. Wind power may<br />
potentially impact these birds, although careful planning appears to offer many potential<br />
mitigation measures. The NS young are attracted to light and are vulnerable to<br />
distraction and grounding on their first flights. To minimize impacts, wind turbine<br />
development could proceed using lower tower heights and configurations not requiring<br />
FCC warning lights. NS fly lower to the ground near the coast as opposed to inland; an<br />
inland wind development would have a greater chance of being below the NS flight path.<br />
NS have been observed to use flight corridors to go from the island to the sea. A study<br />
during the summer and fall (periods of high activity) could be conducted make sure the<br />
proposed wind development site was not in one of these flight corridors. Furthermore the<br />
vast majority of NS movement happens between the hours of 4-6:30 am and 6-9 pm and<br />
turbines could be shut down during this time during the late summer and fall if bird<br />
strikes became an issue.<br />
Erosion potential during construction on some of the steeper sites on <strong>Kauai</strong> may<br />
be of concern and should be addressed both in site selection and in construction planning.<br />
Wind farms are sited over large areas of land. Turbines need to be spaced out to<br />
ensure that the wake of one turbine does not affect downstream turbines. A rule-ofthumb<br />
estimate for spacing is 5 diameters by 8 diameters. A 50-meter turbine would<br />
require spacing of 250 meters by 400 meters (820 x 1,312 ft). However, the actual<br />
turbine, access roads, and transmission lines typically take up less than 5 percent of this<br />
area and the surrounding land can be used for other purposes. Agriculture has been<br />
shown to be a particularly good mix. There are large agricultural areas of <strong>Kauai</strong> with<br />
good wind potential.<br />
21 March 2005 9-26 Black & Veatch