1. Offshore Wind Farms and Bald Head Island
By: Mary Martin
Conservation Intern
2015

2. Wind Energy is Clean Energy
Aligns with the vision of BHI to “live in harmony with nature”
Renewable energy – large source of carbon free power for US
Releases no CO2, nitrogenous waste, or fine particles
Uses virtually no water
Currently, NC imports nearly all of it’s fuel resources – wind energy can contribute to energy independence

3. Location
North Carolina’s waters provide the greatest source of offshore-wind on the East Coast
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has defined the locations of 3 Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) according to the “Smart from the Start” Atlantic Offshore Wind Initiative
WEAs are the lowest conflict, highest potential areas

4. Location
Wilmington West and Wilmington East WEAs are near Bald Head Island
Wilmington West is approximately 10 nautical miles offshore at the closest point
Wilmington East is ~ 15 nm offshore

5. Economic Impacts
North Carolina’s coastal economy is driven by the tourism industry
Development of offshore wind farms will supplement already booming economy by creating jobs from construction, maintenance, and operation
Infrastructure is located close to highly populated areas, leading to reduction in expensive costs of power

6. Tourism
People are curious about the technology behind wind farms and may intentionally visit an area simply to see these wind farms
A study conducted exclusively on residents within North Carolina’s 20 coastal counties, examined impacts of wind turbine presence on coastal tourism
> 90% of respondents indicated that wind farms would have no affect on their future trips to the beach

7. Sea Turtle Tourism
Sea turtle conservation at the Bald Head Island Conservancy results in over $30 million annually in local revenue
The WEAs off of North Carolina have been modified and do not overlap with any loggerhead sea turtle designated Critical Habitat Areas
Offshore wind farms will not negatively impact the efforts that the Bald Head Island Conservancy has put forth in conserving sea turtles.

8. Visual Impacts
WEAs off of BHI designed to minimize effects on view shed and recreation resources
Far enough away so that nighttime lighting would be indistinguishable from existing vessel traffic and be inaudible once the wind farms are established (EA)

9. BOEM Visual Simulation

10. Property Values
There is no experimental evidence that suggests that property values decrease with the presence of an offshore wind farm.
Sterzinger et al. found that the value of 80% of properties in view of an offshore wind farm increased compared to the control properties (Snyder and Kaiser, 2009).

11. Wildlife Impacts
Current reliance on fossil fuels directly impacts wildlife
Habitat destruction from fuel exploration and extraction
Contamination from nitrogenous waste, CO2, heavy metals, etc
Offshore wind has significantly less impacts on coastal and marine wildlife than alternatives, such as oil and gas exploration

12. Wildlife Impacts- Birds and Bats
Potential Impacts
Mitigation Strategies
Collisions, habitat loss, and effects to migratory and breeding pathways are a concern
No federally listed bird species will be jeopardized
Birds and bats will exert more energy to avoid collisions with wind turbines
Impacts from vessel and equipment noise will be negligible
Only red flashing strobe lights will be used to reduce potential to disorient birds (EA)
Any additional lights (i.e. work lights) will only be on when necessary and hooded downward when possible, to reduce illumination (EA)
Meteorological towers should be designed so they will not use guy wires (tension cables) which birds have potential to collide with because they are difficult to see (EA)
Onshore wind has a larger impact on birds and bats because those species rely on perching up on things like trees (which turbines mimic) while peligic and migratory birds do not rely on having these structures out in the ocean

13. Wildlife Impacts- Fish
Potential Impacts
Mitigation Strategy
More habitat because offshore wind turbines produce an artificial reef-like structure
Increased number of fish due to protection from destructive trawling practices
Impacts on accidental fuel spills expected to be negligible (EA)
Potential lethal effects from sound pressures during pile-driving (EA)
Electromagnetic fields transmitted during operation could impact movements and navigation
“Soft starts” will be implemented at the beginning of each pile installation which will allow fish to vacate the area prior to the commencement of pile-driving activities” (EA)

14. Wildlife Impacts- Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles
Potential Impacts
Northern Right Whales may encounter WEAs during migration between foraging grounds and calving grounds
Marine mammals will avoid WEAs during construction but will rebound quickly
Impacts of active acoustic sound sources are predicted to be minor
Impacts of loss of water column, prey distribution, and distribution effects may result in short term, insignificant behavioral changes
Electromagnetic fields transmitted during operation could impact movements and navigation

15. Mitigation Strategies- Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles
The threshold for in-water acoustics established by the National Marine Fisheries Service will be considered conservative in the WEAs
Pile driving for meteorological tower foundation is restricted to only times when visual monitoring of exclusion zones is possible and a NMFS-approved Protected Species Observer is present
1,000 meter radius exclusion zone for cetaceans, sea turtles, and pinnipeds around each pile driving site
“Soft starts” will be implemented at the beginning of each pile installation which will allow them to vacate the area prior to the commencement of pile-driving activities
If a cetacean, pinniped, or sea turtle is within the exclusion zone, operations will shut down and will not restart until 30 minutes or more after the sighting (EA)

16. Offshore Wind is Turning On!
Offshore wind is a local, renewable, clean energy source that can power major coastal cities and surrounding suburbs
Will diversify our energy portfolio, heads towards energy independence, reduces costs and pollution
Spark transformative economic development
Job creation in fields like engineering, maintenance, construction, manufacturing, and more!