WINDFARMS SLAUGHTER VULTURES IN SPAIN - COVERING UP THE EVIDENCE.
REMAINS OF VULTURES FOUND IN PARTLY-UNEARTHED PLASTIC BAG.
Two blogs relate macabre findings in Aragon, on windfarm grounds. The first one, "Barracuda", is owned by a teacher who is also a naturalist: José Antonio Domínguez. The other, "el Sekano", is held by someone who has done monitoring work for windfarms before: Federico Faci.
(imagen omitida)
Photo:griffon vulture victim of wind turbine Nº 63
The following is a litteral translation from the Spanish text appearing here:
www.barracuda.sekano.org/?cat=26
LINK TO THE SPANISH TEXT
First, the post of May 14th:
MAY 14, 2006
SLAUGHTERHOUSE 19 (EOLICAZO III)
Last week "el Sekano" and "Barracuda" found 19 dead griffon vultures under the 11 wind turbines that seem to correspond to the so-called "Serreta extension" in the municipality of Rueda de Jalón (province of Zaragoza, Spain). They would belong, therefore, to the Molinos del Ebro company, of the SAMCA group that is owned by the Luengo family, which has various windfarms in the area and is very much involved in the exploitation of mines in the region of Teruel.
The carcasses were not in the same state of decomposition. Some were very recent - a few days - and others had been there for several months. The facts were brought to the knowledge of the Department of the Environment of the Aragon government and a request was made to bring immediately the windfarm to a permanent halt, and to put a moratorium on the further installation of windfarms in Aragon. This onslaught against biodiversity, and this slaughter, cannot be permitted. We shall keep informing.
PHOTO Griffon vulture, victim of machine Nº 58
According to recorded data, the Extension of the La Serreta windfarm was authorized March 6 2001 and has 38 machines with a total capacity of 25.1 MW; all of which was added to the original windfarm of 24.4 MW which was authorized march 30th 1999.
And here is the litteral translation from the text appearing here:
http://blog.sekano.org/?p=410
LINK TO SPANISH TEXT
MAY 15, 2006
SLAUGHTER AT PEDROLA III
Later visits made with Barracuda to windfarms in the Pedrola area have continued to evidence a high mortality of Griffon vultures (Gyps Fulvus). In an alignment of 11 turbines in the extension of a windfarm in La Serreta, 19 dead vultures were found. However, the most macabre find was that of the partially-buried remains of at least 2 vultures, in a plastic bag. All of this was reported to the environmental authorities, but it is still not known who hid the vultures in that windfarm.
(imagen omitida)
Photo:partially-buried remains of at least 2 vultures, in a plastic bag
Here is now the litteral translation from the first post appearing here:
www.barracuda.sekano.org/?cat=26
LINK TO THE SPANISH TEXT
MAY 19, 2006
WHY DO WIND TURBINES KILL?
The reasons for which wind turbines take down bats and birds, and for which the blades hit them do not seem to be clear. I will outline here a possible cause, which is the high speed at the tip of the blades, which can act as knives.
I caculate below the linear speed of the blade tips of some modern wind turbines recently put up in Belchite (province of Zaragoza) and whose details are published in the magazine Noticias del Viento (Wind News), Nº 14, edited by the Asociación de Promotores de Energía Eólica de Aragón (Wind Energy Association of Aragon).
Data:
Belchite windfarm
Model: Vestas V82
Unit Capacity: 1650kW
Diameter: 82m (R = 41m each blade)
Speed (n): 14,4 rpm
I apply this formula: v = 2 pi R n 60/ 1000 = 222,6 km/h
I estimate that this speed may be deemed very high, and the flying animals find themselves unable to foresee it and to take it into consideration. Since many birds die on our roads, killed by automobiles whose speeds are around 100 km/h, and which they are unable to avoid, if we double the speed it is not surprising that vultures, swifts and larks would die, hacked by the arms of the turbines.
At any rate, mortality data on flying vertebrates show that it is very high, and that it is constant, which would indicate a permanent onslaught against biodiversity and clearly shows that the wind energy being installed is very aggressive an unsustainable, which means that alternatives have to be found.
(imagen omitida)
Foto: carcass of a griffon vulture in the Pedrola windfarm (province of Zaragoza).
However, since mortality in Aragon is actually occurring with wind turbines of less capacity, which are mainly 660Kw, I include below the linear speed at the tip of the blades calculated for this type of machines in accordance with data provided by their manufacturers.
Company: MADE-ENDESA
Wind turbine MADE AE46/I 660kW
Diameter: 46m
Revolutions: 17 to 25.5 rpm
Speed = 147 a 221 km/h
Wind turbine MADE AE52 800kW
Diameter: 52m
Revolutions: 12.8 to 25.71 rpm
Speed = 125 to 252 km/h
Wind turbine MADE AE61 1300kW
Diameter: 61m
Revolutions: 12.5 to 18.8 rpm
Speed = 144 to 216km/h
It may be observed today in Aragon that the tendency is to use wind turbines of increasing generating capacity (there are projects with 2MW turbines). But if the rpms come down, the arms of these machines are longer, and the linear speed at the tip stay above 200 km/h.
END OF TRANSLATION
MY OWN COMMENTS:
The wind lobby is asking ornithologists to put the above "into perspective". But similar reports have been coming from the provinces of Navarra, Soria, Castellón, Cádiz, etc. From these I estimate that the 13,000 wind turbines operating in Spain at present are killing about 2,000 griffon vultures a year (considering that some provinces don´t have as many vultures as others).
The population of griffon vultures in Spain being healthy (about 20,000 breeding pairs), this is sustainable for the moment. But if other causes of mortality were to increase (e.g. poisoning, or starvation caused by the burying of cattle carcasses to stop the spreading of mad cow disease) the species could rapidly find itself in trouble, particularly as new wind farms continue to be built with no end in sight.
In any case, one thing that the lobby cannot put "into perspective" is the fact that some people (windfarm employees?) are burying the evidence, as shown above (and as related in a prior testimony at another windfarm - Tardienta - by two ornithologists who, unfortunately, refused to testify). This being the case, it could explain why carcasses of birds belonging to rare species - like monk vultures, egyptian vultures, lammergeirs, imperial eagles, and Bonelli´s eagles - were never found at windfarm sites in Spain (whereas dead raptors of practically all other native species were found).
- This is cause for concern.
Mark Duchamp...........................24 May, 2006
markduchamp@hotmail.com
OTHER ARTICLES ON THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF WINDFARMS:
The negative effects of windfarms: links to papers published by Mark Duchamp
>> Autor: marcos (24/05/2006)
>> Fuente: José Antonio Domínguez and Federico Faci - translation and comments: Mark Duchamp
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