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Renewable Energy

Wind and Solar

Did you know that the sun and wind can power our cities, homes and even our cars? Where there is enough sun and wind, solar power plants and wind farms can turn sunshine and a strong breeze into clean electricity or renewable energy. Defenders supports the use of renewable energy because it reduces our reliance on dirty fuels and helps to slow down global warming -- the biggest threat to wildlife worldwide.

But renewable energy could also spell trouble for wildlife if it is done in the wrong way. Solar and wind energy developers are looking at nearly 1.5 million acres of land for development. And badly sited renewable power plants could use up scarce water resources and destroy fragile desert lands -- places where the imperiled desert tortoise, the bighorn sheep and other sensitive species live. Poorly planned wind farms are also a problem. Each year tens of thousands of birds and bats die in collisions with wind turbines. But the good news is that smart renewable energy planning can largely avoid these disasters. That is why Defenders is working to make sure that renewable energy is done right for wildlife.

Where Should Renewable Energy Plants Be Built?

Near cities and big energy users
Near existing transmission lines
On former industrial sites and abandoned mines
On other lands that have already been developed
And they should avoid important wildlife habitat on public and private lands

What Defenders is Doing…

We are working with Congress as well as federal, state and local officials to ensure that renewable energy facilities are sited in the right places.
We are evaluating and critiquing current projects and providing comments and information to state and federal officials about the suitability or unsuitability of those projects.
Defenders’ California office has been participating in the federal and state permitting processes for more than 12 solar and wind projects proposed in important wildlife habitat areas the California Desert, Carrizo Plains and Central Valley grasslands.
In California, Defenders is meeting with renewable energy companies to find wildlife-friendly places for solar power plants and to reduce impacts on imperiled wildlife. The California office has also been working with state energy officials to create the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan that would guide responsible solar and wind development in the Mojave Desert.
Defenders’ Oregon office is working to close a legal-loop hole in state regulations that would allow wind developers to avoid rigorous state reviews of projects.
Defenders’ Arizona office is tracking and commenting on proposed solar, wind and renewable energy transmission projects, including a unique pilot study underway by the Bureau of Land Management that will identify and assess the feasibility of using brownfields in Arizona as sites for renewable energy development.
In Arizona, we are working to educate the public and decision-makers on legislation and policy that will shape the future of renewable energy in the Southwest.
Defenders is participating in Federal Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee to ensure that bird and bats are taken into consideration in the siting and operation of wind power plants.