Birds vs. Blades?: Offshore Wind Power and the Race to Protect Seabirds

Birds vs. Blades?: Offshore Wind Power and the Race to Protect Seabirds — page 5
Seabirds are a diverse group including any bird that depends largely on the marine environment Seabirds range from emperor penguins above to tiny arctic terns below which migrate from near the North Pole to Antarctica electricity Wind power is a form of clean energy because it makes electricity without creating air pollution Experts think the US Atlantic coast is a great place to harvest wind energy In 2015 workers began building five wind turbines for the first wind farm in US waters 3 miles 5 km off the coast of Rhode Island More offshore wind projects are planned for Massachusetts New Jersey Maryland and Virginia But these same waters are the winter home for millions of seabirds including the northern gannet Scientists worry that sharing space with wind farms could be disastrous for seabirds Studying a bird that lives over the ocean is difficult so the lives of seabirds largely remain a mystery To protect these birds from wind farms scientists must learn more about how they use the Atlantic Ocean What migration paths do they follow Where do they fish and travel How much do their travel patterns shift from year to year Are offshore wind farms safe for seabirds No one is sure As this clean energy technology comes face to face with offshore wildlife scientists are racing to learn all they can about seabirds and find ways to keep them