Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee

1. Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee January 2008 David J. Stout Chief, Division of Habitat and Resource Conservation Committee Chairman and Designated Federal Officer

2. Wind Energy: A National Perspective 2006: US 3rd highest cumulative wind capacity globally (13,078 MW) Texas has the most installed wind capacity, followed by California, and Iowa Wind development in the US is expected to increase by 25-30% in 2007

3. Wind Energy: A National Perspective

4. Wind Energy: DOI Perspective ~ 80% of US installed wind capacity is on Federal lands 46% BLM-managed land has commercial wind energy potential MMS has authority in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to permit offshore wind, wave and other alternative energy facilities FWS developed voluntary, interim guidelines to minimize and avoid the potential impacts of land-based wind turbines on wildlife.

5. Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee: Background 2003: Service published Interim Guidelines to Avoid and Minimize Wildlife Impacts from Wind Turbines 2005: Service threatened with litigation because of efforts to update interim guidelines outside of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) process

6. Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee: Background 2007: Formation of a Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee, and call for nominations Service recommended 22 individuals after evaluating nominees using criteria published in the Federal Register Secretary appointed 22 Committee members and signed the Charter on October 26, 2007

7. Committee Members Dr. Taber Allison, Massachusetts Audubon Society Mr. Michael Azeka, AES Wind Generation Ms. Kathy Boydston, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Mr. Mike Daulton, National Audubon Society Ms. Aimee Delach, Defenders of Wildlife Mr. Greg Hueckel, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Ms. Jeri Lawrence, Blackfeet Nation Mr. Steve Lindenberg, Department of Energy Mr. Andrew O. Linehan, PPM Energy Mr. Robert Manes, The Nature Conservancy, Kansas Dr. James Russell Mason, Nevada Department of Wildlife Ms. Winifred Perkins, Florida Power and Light Company Mr. Steven Quarles, Crowell & Moring LLP Mr. Rich Rayhill, Ridgeline Energy, LLC Dr. Robert Robel, Kansas State University Mr. Keith Sexson, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Mr. Mark Sinclair, Clean Energy States Alliance/Clean Energy Group Mr. David J. Stout, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mr. Patrick D. Traylor, Hogan & Hartson, LLP

8. Committee Structure David J. Stout: Chairman and Designated Federal Officer Abby Arnold: Facilitator Technical Subcommittee Interagency Caucus

9. Committee Scope and Objective The Committee will provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior on developing effective measures to avoid or minimize impacts to wildlife and their habitats related to land-based wind energy facilities

10. Facilitator Abby Arnold conducted interviews in spring and fall of 2007 Susan Goodwin, DOI, conducted interviews with other Federal agencies Issues raised fell into several categories: Process Policy Technical

11. Federal standard vs. voluntary guidance Service commitment to use of Committee recommendations? Start with current draft voluntary guidelines?

12. Policy Issues Federal role in reviewing wind permits Coordination with State policy � consistency with State guidelines Wind development on Tribal lands Leadership opportunities to develop recommendations that address Federal framework (beyond FWS) Wind in context with other current issues Models for framework: HCPs, Oil & Gas recovery plans, Avian Protection Plans What kind of framework will incentivize industry to minimize impacts? Precedent for green technologies

13. Technical Issues Research questions Risk-based determinations/Context of risk What is the state of the science; what are the best methods to assess impact; minimize impact? Study sites representative of different regional characteristics for a more comprehensive analysis of impacts Focus on populations, not individuals Scoring or ranking sites used in interim guidelines unfeasible due to lack of hard science Methodology for pre- and post-assessment

14. Interest in regular interagency communication Will FWS guidelines be applied to public lands? Need consistency with other federal guidelines and in application Opportunity to identify and fill research gaps and distribute information What will be the intersection of NEPA, ESA, and MBTA?

15. Service Responsibilities Committee reports to the Secretary through the Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Committee Chairman and Designated Federal Officer responsibilities FWS Technical Advisory Team

16. Service Program Participation Outreach to Regional and Field Staff Regular e-mail updates and conference calls FWS Technical Advisory Group Attendance at Committee meetings (limited) Other suggestions?

17. Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee: DOI Participation How can DOI bureaus: Keep informed? http://www.fws.gov/habitatconservation/windpower/windturbine_advisory_committee.html Provide comment? There will be opportunity to comment at all Committee meetings Be involved? Participate in the Federal caucus

18. Draft Road Map

19. FWS Contacts Dave Stout � Committee Chairman and DFO Chief, Division of Habitat and Resource Conservation 703-358-2161 Dave_Stout@fws.gov George Allen Chief, Branch of Policies, Permits & Regulations 703-358-1825 George_T_Allen@fws.gov Rachel London Fish and Wildlife Biologist 703-358-2161 Rachel_London@fws.gov