Are used to mine coal in the abandoned town of carbon. Now, this patch of southern Wyoming is a battleground in the debate on what many hope will be the source of the future of clean energy: wind power.
At the heart of the dispute are plans to build a network of wind farms in the American West that conservationists fear could alter the habitat at risk, such as sage brush, a piece of the decline of the region fragile ecosystem.
This has made the greater sage grouse – which as its name suggests is completely dependent on sage brush – an unlikely poster child for some U.S. environmentalists, as the little spotted owl became a symbol in the 1980s to the battles with the timber industry.
Wyoming is home to 54 percent of the population of sage grouse in most North America. The state bird is being evaluated for inclusion in the U.S. of threatened or endangered species list, which would give more protection.
The problem: The chicken-sized birds in the lives of vast windswept open spaces of Wyoming that makes it very attractive for the wind industry.
Near the carbon, the focus is on a 198-turbine, $ 600 million wind farm proposed by Horizon Wind Energy.
"They want to build around here, but we should really be thinking green. It is not only our carbon footprint," said Alison Holloran of the National Audubon Society in Wyoming, as pointed out by groups of gray sage along a brush the dirt road.
Wind energy will play an important role in any move by the United States to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases that most scientists believe are the main causes of rapid climate change. The burning of coal and the use of other fossil fuels like oil are the major source of carbon emissions, so the race is to "clean energy" alternative.
COLORS OF BROWN
In the public mind, the wind is considered as "green" as an energy source can be obtained. But some environmentalists see shades of brown in the industry.
They say the wind turbines and development that goes with them, including roads and transmission lines, the critical habitat fragment and disrupt the sage grouse and other wildlife.
Said that the horizon grouse issue requires further study.
"There is no peer-reviewed research on how to respond to sage grouse turbines," said Arlo Corwin, the Horizon development director for the western region. "We believe that obtaining this research is essential to see if wind turbines and sage grouse will be able to live."
There have been several skirmishes of wind power in the United States. Off Cape Cod in Massachusetts, is a battle over plans for an offshore wind farm opponents say that disrupt navigation and shipping. There have also been concerns about the birds / turbine crashes in places.
Wind now provides approximately 1.25 percent of U.S. electricity, but the industry is growing rapidly, according to the American Wind Energy Association. He says wind power generation offset now some 54 million tons of carbon per year.
In Wyoming, there are 20 wind farms and four other projects under construction, said the association. Occupies the 12 state U.S. in the wind, but in the seventh generation of potential – meaning a large amount of untapped capacity.
Wind turbines and spins in the horizon Carbon County not far from the proposed development, where trees are marked area. The city was abandoned carbon over a century ago and only a few brick foundations remain.
Hard Landscape
In this harsh landscape, sage sustains life. The greater sage grouse and other around 20 bird species depend on it for their survival, and also supports the plant resistant species big game like mule deer and elk during the cold winter of Wyoming.
Corwin said the planned development horizon wind, known as the Simpson Ridge project would use the transmission lines that run through the area, removing at least a concern.
Horizon is considering when to apply for a permit to develop the site, which is also attractive because the owners have agreed to host turbines on their property.
Last year, Wyoming said that restrict the development of more sage grouse habitat that has been designated "core areas of population."
U.S. wildlife officials say that government’s other development have not been good for the grouse.
"The impact of fragmentation is very, very clear. We know that they will not occupy a habitat near interstate, for example. They are a kind of open landscape and require large intact habitats," said Brian Kelly, a field supervisor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Wyoming.
Kelly said these concerns apply to all developments including gas, oil and housing – not just the wind.
About 20 percent of the state is considered as "baseline" for the bird.
"If we want to retain 20 percent that we can effectively conserve 40 percent of birds in North America. That’s why it’s important," said Kelly.
The state government estimates that only about 14 percent of Wyoming "wind areas economically viable" – which is based on factors such as wind strength, speed and duration – is within core sage grouse and grounds, while 86 percent is out.
"We do not have to choose one or the other, grouse or wind. We have robust populations of sage grouse and sound development of the wind in Wyoming – no problem," said Aaron Clark, an adviser to the energy that the governor of Wyoming.
The wind industry has disputed these figures and some of the definitions used by wildlife, and state officials.
Horizon Corwin noted that the sage, which has lost almost half their historic range, according to some estimates, is also under the threat of climate change. And the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through the use of energy sources such as wind is considered as the best way to slow or stop global warming.