Old Altamont Pass turbines to be swapped out by NextEra to save birds, improve efficiency

Dec. 6, 2010 2:02 PM PT

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NextEra Energy Resources will switch out thousands of old wind turbines in the Altamont Pass for newer machines that are more efficient and less dangerous to birds, according to an agreement with Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown’s office.

The governor-elect hatched a plan to bring down the number of hawks, eagles, falcons and other birds and bats that are killed each year by spinning blades along the Northern California site.

The agreement, announced Monday, has NextEra replacing 2,400 turbines –- many more than three decades old -– over the next four years and shutting down the rest of its units in the area by 2015.

-- Tiffany Hsu

Greenspace

Tiffany Hsu

Tiffany Hsu is a former staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she wrote about the California economy, fast food, restaurants, retail and alternative energy for the Business section. A Bay Area native, UC Berkeley graduate and eternal Nor-Cal fan, she once worked for the San Francisco Bay Guardian. She also did a stint at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, where she developed a passion for sweet tea. She still has faith that someday she’ll find two economists who agree.

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