Get Wind Power Right in Canada!

Wind Energy: An Important Green Energy Solution

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Global warming is creating a climate crisis that poses perhaps the greatest threat to people and biodiversity in our lifetime. This worldwide crisis is caused in part by our dependence on fossil fuel-based sources of energy, and the destructive emission of greenhouse gases that result from their use.

Wind energy is a clean, abundant, renewable source of energy that can contribute to combating the harmful environmental changes brought about by the climate crisis.

While the cost of producing wind power is still relatively high, it has dropped considerably in the last ten years, and will likely be a strong competitor in the Canadian electricity marketplace in the near future.

Wind Farms in the Wrong Places: Bad for Wildlife

Unfortunately, despite their potential contribution to combating climate change, poorly placed wind farms may have significant impacts on wildlife and its habitat, particularly birds and bats.
Potentially negative effects of wind farms include:

Collision with the moving turbine blades, the turbine tower or overhead power lines.

Reduced breeding productivity or reduced survival if birds are displaced from habitat by the presence and construction of turbines, and by the movement of maintenance vehicles.

Turbines create barriers between feeding, wintering, breeding and moulting areas, disrupting bird movement patterns and flight paths.

Some species that feed in flight, such as swallows, swifts, nighthawks and whip-poor-wills, and those with aerial courtship displays, may face added risks. Some studies suggest turbines may attract insects, acting as a lure for aerial insect-eating birds and bats.

Wind Power: Good Things in Good Places

Nature Canada supports the development of wind energy in Canada, coupled with conservation measures to reduce all forms of fossil fuel consumption.

But wind energy must not be produced at the expense of wildlife.

Wind turbines and wind farms should not be located in places – such as Important Bird Areas – where birds congregate, migrate and breed.

All wind farm proposals should be subject to an environmental assessment prior to development in order to evaluate their impact on all wildlife, including birds and bats.

Regulators such as the provincial and territorial governments should adopt policies and guidelines that exclude wind energy projects from Important Bird Areas and other areas that are known to be of importance to birds and bats.

Any wind farms that already exist within migratory corridors or bottlenecks should be subject to the best practices for mitigating their impacts on birds, especially during migration season.

Sign the Petition to Get Wind Right in Canada!