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National Academies advisory: May 3 telephone news conference on wind energy's environmental impacts

U.S. capacity to generate electricity using wind energy has more than quadrupled since 2000. Although wind energy has well-known environmental benefits – it generates no carbon dioxide or other air pollutants – it can also have drawbacks, such as killing birds and bats that fly into turbines.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF WIND ENERGY PROJECTS, a new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council, assesses the environmental benefits of wind energy – including how much carbon dioxide is expected to be offset in coming years – as well as its adverse effects. The report also discusses wind facilities' effects on people and communities, such as aesthetic and economic impacts.

As a case study, the report looks at the mid-Atlantic highlands, a region spanning parts of West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.

The report will be released at a one-hour telephone news conference on May 3.

CONFERENCE CALL DETAILS:
10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, May 3. Reporters can register to participate or obtain a copy of the report by contacting the National Academies’ Office of News and Public Information, tel. 202-334-2138 or e-mail news@nas.edu.

Advance copies of the report will be available to reporters only beginning at 3 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 2. THE REPORT IS EMBARGOED AND NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE BEFORE 10 A.M. EDT ON MAY 3.

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