New Technology Coming to Wind Farm In Southern Wyoming

Wind turbines at wind farms seem to be the newest accessory to Wyoming's landscapes, but what many people don't know is that many wind farms provide other services besides generating power. A new wind farm that will be located in the southern part of the state will be using military technology to track bird and bat habitat and migration patterns.

The wind farm will be located just south of Rawlins and will use a radar system to collect data about the habitat and migration patterns of golden eagles, bald eagles, hawks and other bird species as well as bats.

The proposed 1,000 turbine wind energy project is being developed by Power Co. of Wyoming LLC. The information gathered will be used in a management plan for birds and bats on the companies Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project.

Last year  a sage grouse monitoring program was launched. Fifty female grouse were tagged with GPS tracking devices and then monitored. A male grouse study in the area is currently being conducted. The new radar monitoring system will be another step in monitoring wildlife around wind farm areas.