With 47 dead birds and bats linked to the Lompoc wind farm, the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission voted to implement additional measures and studies but stalled others, such as using alarms to avoid future fatalities.

The Strauss Wind Energy Project, by BayWa r.e., sits on a ridge southwest of Lompoc and  includes 27 wind turbine generators. Since the site began operating in November 2023, carcasses of 31 birds and 16 bats have been found.

Commissioners voted 4-0 to approve several revisions to the Bird and Bat Conservation Strategy and Adaptive Management Plan related to the commercial wind farm. Fifth District Commissioner Vincent Martinez was absent Wednesday.

“I think this was a successful hearing, and it showed that the plan was a successful venture at least so far,” Third District Commissioner John Parke said at the end of the lengthy hearing.

Most of the deaths occurred near turbines and involved common birds, according to data through September. However, several deaths involved birds with various protections, such as one golden eagle in March plus two red-tailed hawks and a great horned owl.

Measures previously adopted require Planning & Development staff to submit a report to the Planning Commission if the wind farm reached a certain threshold for bird and bat deaths.

Planning staff, Strauss representatives and the Santa Barbara Audubon Society had various ideas for added measures, with commissioners approving some, rejecting others and deferring decisions for a few.

“We have a nature preserve that happens to have a wind farm in place on it, and there’s been a significant investment at the local level for conservation, restoration and enhancement of natural resources,” said Jeffrey Carroll, ecologist for BayWa r.e. “We’d like you to consider that.”

One new measure readily favored will boost the number of searches for carcasses near wind turbine generators. However, the panel declined to require the use of dogs to help humans spot any dead birds.

Installation of the Bird Gard Super Pro Auditory Transmitters to sound alarms — described as “not pleasant” — to scare away birds and bats won’t occur amid concerns about impacts on humans and other species. 

First District Commissioner C. Michael Cooney noted the rocky relationships with neighbors who opposed the wind farm for years.

“To tantalize the neighbors and give them something to object to, I’d be concerned about it,” Cooney added.

“I’m not keen on this,” said Second District Commissioner Laura Bridley, who also filled in as chair for the meeting. 

Her concerns, she said, centered on the impacts caused by noise.

Another measure supported by planning commissioners would provide details about the IdentiFlight bird detection system, including its effectiveness, coverage area and possible blind spots. 

If the artificial intelligence system spots a golden eagle, the wind turbine generator shuts down as a precaution. Since starting, the wind farm has seen 35,000 curtailment events because of eagles flying nearby.

So far, county staff has only limited information on the IdentiFlight performance because of a non-disclosure agreement. 

“There’s a ton of data that’s not being shared with us that we’re just in the dark on,” Energy Division manager Errin Briggs said.

A BayWa representative said they would share the IdentiFlight data with county staff.

The planning panel rejected, at least for now, requiring the firm to program IdentiFlight to recognize red-tailed hawks and turkey vultures amid concerns the high population of those birds would force frequent shutdowns and mean huge financial losses.

BayWa’s ecologist estimated that programming red-tailed hawks and turkey vultures would force them to curtail operations 10 to 20 times more than they’ve done for golden eagles.

Another proposal centered on painting blades, a step Strauss representatives opposed amid concern it could cause delamination or separation of the behemoth blades’ fiberglass layers. They also worried it would void the warranty.

While BayWa suggested waiting for completion of other wind farm studies, the Planning Commission said it pushed for an analysis within a year.

Planning commissioners did require BayWa to conduct a study of golden eagles to learn more about the population in the area where a breeding pair had been seen for a long time.

A proposal to require Strauss to pay $1,000 for each raptor killed and $500 per other bird killed for the first five years of operations didn’t garner commissioners’ support after much discussion. The funds would have been directed to a local wildlife or raptor rehabilitation center.

Audubon Society members offered various suggestions and some criticism.

“Our goal today is to recommend practical measures to reduce bird deaths in compliance with the Strauss Adaptive Management Plan,” said Katherine Emery, Santa Barbara Audubon’s executive director.

The group  asked for the reduction of some wind turbine operations during nesting season, sought creation of a working group and supported studying painting some blade black. 

They wanted weekly surveys at all turbines, a rate the commission did not support. 

“Accurate carcass surveys are critical to informed decision-making,” Emery added.