Wind farm could endanger Cape and Bearded
vultures - Courtesy of Birdlife
January 2013. BirdLife South Africa and BirdLife International are very
concerned that the proposed development of a wind farm at Letseng in Lesotho
could have severe impacts on the already declining populations of Cape Vultures
and Lammergeiers. South Africa and Lesotho share the responsibility of
safeguarding the populations of Lammergeiers and Cape Vultures in the Lesotho
Highlands and the surrounding escarpment of South Africa.
PowerNET Developments (Pty) Ltd propose to erect
42 wind turbines (each with a capacity of 850 kW) near Letšeng-La-Terae, on the
north-eastern escarpment of the Drakensberg. The environmental impact
assessment (EIA) for the proposed Letseng Wind Farm is in its final stages of
completion. The avifaunal specialist report, compiled by well-respected
ornithologist Dr Andrew Jenkins, indicates that even with mitigation, the
anticipated impacts of the project on highly unique and sensitive avifauna will
be of high to very high negative significance, rendering the project
unsustainable.
Significant impacts on bird populations
While wind energy is fairly new to southern Africa, poorly located wind
turbines elsewhere in the world have had significant impacts on bird populations.
Impacts include loss of habitat, disturbance and mortality through collisions
with the turbine blades. In Smøla, Norway, for example, wind farms caused the
local population of White-tailed Eagles (also known as Sea Eagles) to plunge by
95% - reducing the number from 19 eagle pairs to only one pair.
Such devastating impacts have not occurred at
all wind farms. "The considered location of wind farms is the key to
ensuring that impacts on birds are kept to a minimum", says Samantha
Ralston, Birds and Renewable Energy Manager for BirdLife South Africa. Among
other things, turbines should be kept well away from areas frequently used by
collision-prone birds such as large-bodied raptors.
