ABERDEEN, Wash. (AP) — Plans for a wind farm on the Washington coast in Pacific County near Naselle may depend on a special radar that tracks birds.
The Daily World of Aberdeen reports the radar system called Merlin can track the flight of marbled murrelets, a threatened seabird that nests in trees.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will use the information to decide how many of the birds might be killed by spinning blades.
At stake is a proposed 32-turbine wind farm that would produce enough electricity for 18,000 homes.
