http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/3dfcb92a6831d80fb5a564081f756912.htmInterior Starts Wind Advisory Group
Interior Dept. Names Corporate and Other Members to Wind Energy Advisory Group
October 29, 2007: 01:50 PM EST
NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Interior Department Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has named a 22-member advisory committee to recommend ways to protect birds, bats and other wildlife from the huge whirling blades and related environmental factors of wind energy projects.
The Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee includes members from FPL Group Inc.' Florida Power & Light Co. and BP PLC's British Petroleum Alternative Energy, as well representatives from state and federal agencies and wildlife conservation groups.
The group will provide recommendations on measures to protect wildlife, and coordinate the review and evaluation of facilities by government agencies. The committee is expected to meet about four times per year.
"By some estimates, wind power could provide clean and renewable electricity to meet up to 20 percent of the nation's energy needs," Kempthorne said in a release Friday. "This committee will help examine issues, such as site selection and turbine design, so we can develop wind resources while protecting wildlife."
Wind farms currently account for less than 1 percent of the U.S. power supply.