Dead bat delaying fed approval for Pa. wind farm

February 02, 2012 -- 10:01 AM
Thu, 2012-02-02 10:01

A dead bat that shut down one southwestern Pennsylvania wind farm's turbines at night is causing federal regulators to reconsider plans for another 30-turbine wind farm.

There's no scientific proof the endangered Indiana bat found dead on Sept. 26 was killed by a windmill, though it was found on a wind farm owned by Duke Energy Renewables covering part of Cambria and Blair counties, about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh.

The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown (http://bit.ly/y9oDTu ) says the bat is causing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to again review plans Gamesa Inc. has for 30 turbines along the Somerset and Bedford County lines, which environmentalists say is also in the migratory path of the bats.

A Gamesa spokesman says the review is "simply another step in the permitting process."

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Information from: The Tribune-Democrat, http://www.tribune-democrat.com