Efforts to Protect Condors Take Flight with New Conservation Plan
Multiple Wind Energy Projects in California’s Largest Wind Resource Area Collaborate to Minimize Potential Impacts and Protect California Condors
Tehachapi, CA, February 22, 2023 – California’s new Wind Energy Condor Action Team (WECAT), a consortium of 24 wind energy companies, submitted a permit application and Condor Conservation Plan (CCP) to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the Service released its draft Environmental Assessment (EA) of the conservation plan today. The draft EA and CCP are available for public review and comment through March 24, 2023.
WECAT’s CCP is built on a partnership between the wind companies, the Service, and The Peregrine Fund. “This is a unique opportunity to bring together the Service and multiple companies for a common purpose,” said WECAT’s President Diane Barr. “We are excited to reach this important milestone. We have been working collaboratively with the Service and The Peregrine Fund over the past three years and are eager to have a comprehensive condor conservation plan to support both condor conservation and the continued production of renewable energy in the region.”
WECAT will provide over $6 million in funding for The Peregrine Fund to expand their current efforts and provide for the breeding, rearing, and release of 35 condors over the next 15 years.
Chris Parish, President and CEO of The Peregrine Fund, said: “We are thrilled to have additional funding committed to California condor Recovery. This assured funding a will allow us to expand our program, thereby producing and releasing more condors than ever before.”
WECAT will also commit to general conservation measures that avoid and minimize risk to California condors as well as a specialized condor risk minimization program consisting of carrion management, condor detection, and turbine curtailment.
“We are committed to ensuring that our wind project operations minimize and mitigate potential impacts on California condors,” said Elise Anderson, Director of Biodiversity and Environment, EDF Renewables. “This plan builds on lessons learned and best practices in the region and will continue to ensure that our operations occur in a way that minimizes impacts.”
In exchange for these commitments, WECAT’s 24 members have collectively applied for a permit to authorize the incidental take of up to 11 condors and 11 associated eggs or chicks over 30 years. As there has been no take of condors to date from wind projects, this estimate is conservative. “We have been implementing avoidance and minimization measures for years,” said Ray Kelly, Senior Director of Clearway Energy Group. “This conservation plan codifies our practices, creates a common standard for most operators, and provides mitigation regardless of a take. We are looking forward to implementation.”
The Service supervised the preparation of a Population Viability Assessment (PVA) to confirm that WECAT’s conservation actions will fully mitigate these potential impacts – which they do. The Service previously approved a smaller single-project permit in 2021 and is processing another single-project permit.
WECAT’s members, named as future co-permittees in the permit application, are subsidiaries of larger renewable energy companies including BHE Renewables, CalWind Resources, Clearway Energy Group, EDF Renewables, EDP Renewables, EverPower Wind Holdings, and Wind Wall Development.
As required by law, the Service has conducted an independent assessment of WECAT’s condor conservation plan, and today released an EA for public review under the National Environmental Policy Act. The Service has also issued a press release and opened a comment period on the EA and CCP. The EA and CCP are available at https://www.regulations.gov by searching Docket Number FWS-R8-ES-2022-0170.