County OKs Permits for 1,700 Wind Turbines

Alameda County has approved permits for 1,700 wind turbines east of San Francisco, despite opposition from environmentalists who say the energy-producing equipment kills thousands of protected birds.

The East Alameda Board of Zoning Adjustments approved the permits Thursday after the energy companies that operate the turbines said efforts were being made to reduce bird deaths in the Altamont Pass, one of California’s largest centers of wind energy production.

Hundreds of raptors, including red-tailed hawks, burrowing owls and golden eagles, fly into the blades of Altamont Pass turbines and are killed each year.