How do wind farms impact birds and wildlife?
In the Midwest, wind turbines have been shown to have no significant impact on avian wildlife. Projects rarely disturb wildlife habitat because wind turbines are typically sited on land that has been used for agricultural or similar purposes, and are subject to DNR and EPA regulation. Early wind turbine installations had problems with birds for two reasons, the speed of the blade rotation and the open, or lattice, type of tower. Current technology uses rotors rotating at speeds of 9-19 rpm versus as high as 100 rpm in older technology. The current tubular steel towers prevent birds from nesting on the turbine structure.
