This dynamic series of training webinars will familiarize attendees with applied techniques for monitoring, permitting, reporting, and researching land-based wind energy and wildlife interactions. Experts from government agencies, private industry, academia, and NGOs will discuss important background information and address research and regulatory considerations related to early stages of prospecting potential projects to full operation.

Stakeholders working at the intersection of wind energy and wildlife, including:
• Those evaluating and permitting wind energy projects
• Practitioners conducting monitoring, research, and/or submitting reports
• Others interested in advancing wind energy and wildlife conservation

To inform stakeholders on the nuances of wind energy development, improve communication between stakeholders, reduce wind-wildlife conflicts, and enable successful permitting of wind energy projects.
Modeled on previous in-person workshops held at NREL’s Flatirons Campus, this webinar series will be interactive and enable all stakeholders to effectively participate. The webinars will include background resources, a glossary of terms, and staff ‘on call’ to provide clarifications in the chat boxes in real time (defining acronyms, answering basic questions, etc.).

The webinar series will begin in late August and conclude in mid-November. Recordings of all webinars will be made available on Tethys.

1. Wind Energy & Wildlife Interactions: History of wind energy and wildlife interactions and overview of the webinar series
2. Federal and State Perspectives on Environmental Review of Wind Energy and Wildlife
3. Grouse: Considerations for developing wind energy in grouse habitat  
4. Bats: Methodologies and technologies used to study impacts of wind turbines on bats
5. Eagles: Permitting process and best practices for monitoring and mitigation
6. Communicating Results: How to identify and produce robust monitoring reports
7. Impact Reduction Strategies for Birds and Bats
8. Economics of Wind Energy: Understanding wildlife minimization in the context of development and financing
9. Future Priorities for Wildlife & Wind Energy: Multi-stakeholder perspectives on challenges and opportunities