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Downtown Toronto Turbine has “No Significant Impact” on Avian Mortality

TORONTO, ON, 2004-02-05 (canadian association for renewable energies) The first downtown wind turbine in North America has killed two birds in its first year of operation.

Forty million birds fly over Toronto during migration periods, but a study by Toronto Hydro and WindShare shows that mortality from the turbine at Exhibition Place “has had no significant impact on local and migrating bird populations.”

The Exhibition Place Wind Turbine Bird Monitoring Study was conducted during last spring and fall, and concluded that the level of mortality “is absolutely insignificant when compare! d with the thousands of birds killed annually, in Toronto, by striking tall buildings.”

It says the mortality rate is closer to that of an individual house where birds hit windows at a rate of between one and ten per year, and said every feral (free roaming) cat in Toronto is capable of killing more than 1,000 small animals including birds per year.

Local birds “appear to have adapted easily to the presence of the turbine and simply avoid it,” the report notes. “

Bird flocks were seen arriving daily to forage on lawns and landed in parking lots soon after dawn, and always took a flight path that clearly avoided coming close to the turbine.”

Toronto Hydro and WindShare installed the $1.3 million Lagerwey 750 kW turbine to supply green power to the city.

"Toronto is gifted with a large and diverse population of birds,” says Ed Hale of WindShare. “I am pleased that this report demonstrates a high level of comfort and adaptability among the many species of birds living at the win! d turbine site.”

WindShare is Canada's first green power community co-operative that was started by the Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative.

"We're very excited to confirm our predictions that the wind turbine would have minimum impact on local and migrating birds," adds Joyce McLean of Toronto Hydro Energy Services.

"Having the turbine become such an unobtrusive part of the bird environment only further confirms that we installed the turbine for all of the right reasons."

The Lagerwey turbine generates sound levels of 43 decibels at a distance of 250 m, compared with levels of 48-52 dB in a quiet suburban residential neighbourhood and 58-62 dB in an urban residential environment.

—Bill Eggertson

canadian association for renewable energies

 

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