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~.. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF LARGE WINDPOWER FARMS Wallace E. Howen Asst. to the Chief, Div. of Atmosphedc Water Resources Management Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado ABSTRACT To support current planning for a 100-MW windfann in Wyoming, impacts are considered from a site-centered rather than a machine- centered viewpoint. Onsite impacts assessed include those on microclimate, wildlife, noise, television and radio reception, land use, and aesthetics. Offsite impacts include population shifts, regional economics, public attitudes, added high-voltage power transmission, and income transfers. Impacts of alternatives to windfarms are considered at the levE~ls of basic requirements (provide energy vs. adjust to shortage), broad strategi es (conventi onal vs" self-renewing resources), alternative self-renewing resources, and alternative windpower techniques. No harsh impacts are foreseen. Principal discernible impacts foreseen are: hazard to migrating birds, but much less intense than natural hazards; reduction in pronghorn range where windfarms overlap existing range; mild land-use interference in farmland but not with grazing; mainly positive aesthetic responses condition by interest in monumental-scale artifacts and favorable public attitudes toward "clean" power; minimal effects In regional economics, populations, and transportation; and mild impacts from high-voltage transmission that may be benign or adverse depending on technological developments. Issues of income transfer will arise where burdens are imposed on residents of a candidate windfann site for the benefit of nonresidents, but may be mitigated by some extension of present compensatory measures. All other impacts are assessed as either innocuous, indistinguiShably small, or easily mitigated. Nonexpansion of energy capacity and exclusive reliance on nonrene\llable resources are seen as infeasible alternatives, but windpower expansion would reduce other impacts. If accelerated windpower development were to achieve a projected 170 GW generation by the year 2000, about 750 million tons less coal or equivalent nuclear fuel would be consumed, with commensurate reduction of impacts associated with extraction, burning, and waste disposal. Among the impacts of self-renewing resources, none appear harsh, but windpower compares favorably with direct-solar and geothermal sources. Windfarms will have less impact than distributed windpowered generators of equal capaci ty. In summary, environmental impacts of large windfarms are mild and easily mitigated in comparison with those of conventional energy alternatives.