Several months ago, a report came out that bats are harmed in greater numbers by windmills than birds, the animal people generally are concerned about when discussing wind farms. Apparently, the frequency emitted by the turbines is so overwhelming to a bats delicate, little lungs that they explode inside their tiny chests. Doesn’t that sound horrific?
Well now a new report indicates that wind farms are also not the friend to salmon either. A recent article out of Portland explains the problem for fish:
At the end of June, there was an unexpected surge in wind power and too much energy was created for the regional grid to handle. To compensate, the dams cut their power by spilling more water.
Spilling more water is dangerous for fish because water plunging from the dams into the river becomes saturated with air. Air is mostly nitrogen and salmon do not like nitrogen saturation.
And they better sort it out pretty quickly, because the article goes on to explain the current mandates for renewable energy in that region:
In the long run, green power is good for everyone and it’s even mandated by law. In Oregon, the state’s largest utilities must get 25 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025. In Washington, it’s 15 percent by 2020 and in California, it’s 20 percent by 2010.