Bats in Trouble is published by Orca Books in Victoria, BC
My new book for young readers, Bats in Trouble, is about the conflict between bats and wind turbines. I had to learn a lot about wind energy before I started writing the story – here are five fast facts that didn’t make it into the book:
Ted Rhodes, Calgary Herald
1. Canada’s first commercial wind farm was built just outside of Pincher Creek, Alberta, in 1993.
2. The demand for wind energy is growing. Canada’s capacity for wind-generated electricity grew 18% per year from 2012 – 2016. There are now 285 wind farms across the country.
Wind turbine outside of Pincher Creek 2014
3. About 6% of Canada’s electricity comes from wind, enough to power about 3.2 million homes.
4. Wind energy facilities can be found around the globe, in more than 80 countries. The leaders in wind energy generation are China, USA, Germany, India, Spain, UK, France, and Canada.
5. The cost of generating electricity from wind has plummeted 66% since 2009. As technology improved, wind energy is becoming increasingly affordable.
My last post talked about the dangers turbines pose for migrating bats, including barotraumatic injuries (there’s a big ugly word, eh?). In a few days, I’ll explore how wind energy works – in a way that my young readers can understand.
California wind farm
