National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Defenders of Wildlife (Defenders) have launched Wildlife and Wind Energy: Considerations for Monitoring and Managing Impacts, a nine-part webinar series to help familiarise stakeholders with the nuances of land-based wind energy development in the context of species conservation.
Held from September through December, the webinar series helped attendees understand a variety of topics ranging from species-specific discussions and methodologies for reducing impacts on wildlife to regulatory and financing perspectives on effective mitigation strategies for species protection.
“The impact of wind turbines on certain wildlife species like birds and bats is well documented, but many questions remain on how best to respond from a conservation perspective while supporting a growing renewable energy sector,” Senior Researcher Cris Hein said. “By partnering with Defenders and inviting a wide range of subject matter experts, we were able to provide attendees a fairly comprehensive overview of the intersection between wind energy development and wildlife to help familiarize attendees with applied techniques for monitoring, permitting, reporting, and minimizing impacts.”
As technological advances continue, wide areas of the country, including coastal regions, will be unlocked for further wind energy development. As a result, more efficient and cost-effective wind-wildlife impact monitoring and minimization technologies will be needed to continue this rapid expansion while simultaneously protecting wildlife species.
