Birds concern stall windmills

No wind energy projects to be cleared till impact study is done.

Updated on: Nov 14, 2011, 23:15:18 IST

Hindustan Times | By Chetan Chauhan, New Delhi

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

Concern over adverse impact of windmills on birds has stalled major clean energy projects in India.

An environment ministry committee has refused to approve any wind energy projects till impact of these windmills on avifauna and bats is fully examined.

A study by wildlife conservation organization ELA Foundation, Pune, has found that windmills restrict the path of birds and has been cause of disappearance of many birds in certain areas.

More comprehensive studies in west have indicated that lakhs of birds are killed because of the windmills. In Denmark, where wind turbines generate nine percent of country’s total electricity, these mills kill about 30,000 birds every year. The number is higher in United States, where the government estimated is over 4.40 lakh. Over 4,700 birds have been killed annually every year in California.

Studies indicate that death of birds could increase manifold with global electricity generation expected to rise 12 times to 2009 level by 2030.

Consortium of wind energy generators belie these fears saying the new blades have reduced the bird causality tremendously and it was now less than that of thermal power plants.

The environment ministry’s Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) – mandated to divert forestland for projects --- has decided that projects would be considered for approval only after a new comprehensive study on impact of windmills on avifauna and bats is done.

“All new proposals would be considered only after the impact of these windmills is finalized,” the committee said, while acknowledging that wind energy was a good source of clean energy.

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has been asked to conduct a detailed study on impact of windmills on birds and submit a report within three months. “BNHS would draw from the international studies and would provide a framework of suitability of areas after conducting sample studies,” the FAC has told the environment ministry.

The society will also have to draw the areas where windmills can be installed and spell criteria for the site specific studies to minimize adverse impact to birds before taking final decision.

Before BHNS completes its study, the ministry will have to formulate guidelines to access and define the impact zone of the wind energy project for evaluating the net present value (NPV). For adverse impact on forests, projects proponents are required to despite NPV with the government.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Chauhan is the National Affairs Editor looking into all aspects of news and features from across India. A Chevening scholar with over three decades of experience in reporting and news management, Chetan has extensively covered all important aspects of the social sector, political economy, environment and climate change nationally and internationally. He did a journalism course at the Reuters Institute of Journalism in Oxford and Digital Media training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He started as a reporter with The Statesman in 1996 and joined the Hindustan Times in 2000 in the metro bureau covering environment, crime and Delhi politics. He covered hot local news, from the Jessica Lal murder case to the rebellion of Delhi Congress MLAs against then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to the replacement of toxic vehicle fuel with cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital. Some of his stories on air pollution became part of the Supreme Court’s landmark MC Mehta versus Government of India case in the National Capital Region (NCR), forcing the government to take corrective measures. As part of the national political bureau since 2004, he covered important central sectors such as environment, education, social justice, labour, rural development, water resources, renewable energy, agriculture, broadcasting and the Planning Commission for more than a decade producing several exclusive and investigative breaking stories. His specialisation is the environment, having covered at least a dozen United Nations global conferences on climate change, biodiversity and wildlife including climate summits in Paris, Copenhagen and Bali. He also covered India’s two five-year plans ---11th and 12th and reported on drafting and execution of right based laws such as Right to Education, Right to Information and rural job guarantee law, MG-NREGA, now being introduced in new format as VG-RAM-G Act. He has in-depth knowledge of social sector issues. He was one of the first to report on tigers vanishing from Sariska and Panna wildlife reserves in 2004 and 2008, respectively, leading to the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the introduction of stringent penal provisions for poaching. He has written extensively on the rising human-animal conflict in India and the degradation of India’s biodiversity hotspots because of mining and other activities. Since 2004, Chetan has covered Parliament comprehensively and participated in training on the nuanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. He has travelled extensively across India to cover national and provincial elections since 1998, especially in the Hindi heartland states, considered India’s road to power. He writes a regular column for Hindustan Times, Ecostani, on important national politics, economy, Himalayan ecology and environmental issues. His other responsibilities include providing inputs for edits and edit page articles for the publication, apart from managing news flow from across India.Read More

Catch every big hit, every wicket with Crickit, a one stop destination for Live Scores, Match Stats, Infographics & much more. Explore now!

Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.