U.S. agency offers plan to protect species from Haleiwa wind farm
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says a plan to protect endangered and threatened species during the construction and operation of a proposed wind power farm northeast of Haleiwa is ready for public review and comment.
Kawailoa Wind Power LLC aims to build a wind farm on Oahu’s North Shore that would include 30 wind turbine generators, a maintenance building, and a battery storage system.
The site is next to land used by four endangered waterbirds: the Hawaiian moorhen, Hawaiian duck, Hawaiian coot, and Hawaiian stilt. A threatened seabird, the Newell’s shearwater also uses the area, as does the endangered Hawaiian hoary bat.
A Habitat Conservation Plan prepared by the company proposes several mitigation measures.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting comments on the plan through Oct. 11.