A Campaign That's For The Birds

Wildlife Advocates Seek To Curb Raptor Deaths At Calif. Wind Farm

(AP)  The new-generation windmills are higher off the ground, rotate more slowly and are 15 to 30 times more powerful, so fewer are needed to produce the same amount of electricity.

Stengel warns, however, that requiring more extreme measures could put the wind farms out of business.

"There's a balancing act here," Stengel said. "We have to be able to reduce the bird mortality and at the same time allow the turbine operators to operate in an economically responsible manner."

Wind has become one of the fastest-growing sources of renewable energy, expanding about 20 percent annually over the past five years, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Last year, U.S. wind farms had the capacity to generate 6,740 megawatts of electricity. Another 2,500 megawatts is expected to be added this year.

While that's still less than 1 percent of the nation's electricity supply, the U.S. Energy Department wants wind power to comprise 5 percent by 2020.

Some environmentalists worry that Altamont's bird kill problem is hurting wind's environmentally friendly reputation.

"Allowing the taking of these protected species is giving a black eye to the wind power industry," said Michael Boyd, who heads Californians for Renewable Energy. "Wind is a good option, but you got to locate it appropriately and design it appropriately for the environment you're putting it in."