US bird conservation group the National Audubon Society has given conditional backing to Fred Olsen Renewables and LEEDCo’s 21MW Icebreaker offshore wind farm on Lake Erie.
The organisation said at a public hearing held by the Ohio Power Siting Board that it supports the project as long as threats to birds and other wildlife are minimised.
Support would be given if the Board adopts 34 recommendations in a Staff Report of Investigation, it added.
National Audubon Society renewable energy director Garry George said: “Our concern is the potential impact of the Icebreaker project on water birds, especially the significant wintering population of Red-breasted Merganser, and the millions of birds that migrate twice a year at night over the Lake, two criteria that identify the Central Basin of Lake Erie as a globally significant important bird Area in an international program for bird conservation.
“The standards that Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Ohio Power Siting Board set will set the standard for wind energy development, if any, in the entire Great Lakes.”
The board will start an adjudicatory hearing on the project on 6 August, with a date for a final decision yet to be determined.
Icebreaker is planned to feature six MHI Vestas V126-3.45MW machines.
Image: LEEDCo
US bird body backs Icebreaker
By EBS