Pennsylvania Wind and Wildlife Collaborative

Introduction

Act 213 of 2004, the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act, signed into law by Governor Edward G. Rendell on November 30, 2004, requires that 18 percent of the electricity sold to retail customers in Pennsylvania come from renewable and advanced energy sources within 15 years. Act 213 will bring both environmental and economic benefits to the Commonwealth, and positions Pennsylvania as a national leader in alternative and renewable energy development.

One of the technologies that will compete for a substantial share of Pennsylvania’s alternative energy market is wind power. To assist in the development of wind energy in Pennsylvania in an environmentally responsible manner, Governor Rendell has convened The Pennsylvania Wind & Wildlife Collaborative, which is being led by DCNR.

Mission

The mission of the Pennsylvania Wind and Wildlife Collaborative is to engage federal and state environmental agencies, nongovernmental conservation organizations, and the wind industry in a collaborative, consensus-based process to collect, share, review, and use the best available science, data, and professional expertise to address how best to assist in the development of wind energy in Pennsylvania in an environmentally responsible manner.

Goal

To develop a set of Pennsylvania-specific principles, policies, best management practices, guidelines, and tools that can be used to assess risk to habitat and wildlife from wind power development, and to mitigate* for the impact of that development.

* As defined in The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): “Planning actions taken to avoid an impact altogether, to minimize the degree or magnitude of the impact, reduce the impact over time, rectify the impact, or compensate for the impact (40 CFR 1508.20).” Taken from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service "NEPA Guidance to States Participating in The Federal Aid Program".

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