Renewable energy vs. wildlife conservation - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 88

The court in Beech Ridge clearly recognized that the dispute at hand was
a mere microcosm of the much broader conflict between wildlife conser-
vation and the renewable energy movement. To quote the court opinion,
“This is a case about bats, wind turbines, and two federal policies, one
favoring protection of endangered species and the other encouraging devel-
opment of renewable energy resources.” 102
Ultimately, the court upheld an injunction against operation of the wind
farm except during summer months when bats would not be at risk. The
court seemed to take the view that Congress intended to place protecting
endangered species above facilitating renewable energy development. Even
though the defendant's wind farm would have supplied clean, renewable
power to more than 50,000 homes, 103 the court found that Congress had
“unequivocally stated that endangered species must be afforded the highest
priority.” 104 Accordingly, the court proved unwilling to engage in any sort
of weighing of costs and benefits between renewable energy and wildlife
protection, seemingly deferring to the judgment of Congress on such policy
questions.
After the court released its decision, the developer of the Beech Ridge
wind energy project began work on a permit application for an incidental
take permit for the second phase of its wind energy project. If granted, the
permit would shield the developer from liability for the incidental deaths of
any Indiana bats or Virginia big-eared bats resulting from that phase of the
wind farm. 105 The developer's habitat conservation plan, required as part of
its incidental take permit application, included an offer to help fund offsite
conservation efforts for the two protected bat species potentially impacted
by the project. 106
The Beech Ridge case sent a clear message to renewable energy devel-
opers who may be tempted to develop projects without fully cooperating
with the FWS. At least within the United States, courts are unlikely to
give serious consideration to arguments that the social and environmental
benefits of renewable energy justify ignoring FWS requirements. Any future
pardons or special exceptions from such compliance for renewable energy
developers are likely to have to originate in legislative bodies, not in the
courts.
Solar energy vs. the desert tortoise
In addition to harming birds and bats, renewable energy development has
the potential to adversely impact several other forms of wildlife. Many of
these are desert creatures that inhabit arid climates where there are strong
renewable energy resources and few residents capable of being disturbed by
a large wind or solar energy project.
In recent years, there has been growing interest in siting solar energy facil-
ities in remote desert areas. Some of these new projects are concentrating
solar power (CSP) plants, which involve the use of hundreds or thousands