ABSTRACT

Abstract .................................................................................................................. 214 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 214 Unforeseen Consequences ..................................................................................... 216

Fatalities ............................................................................................................ 217 Impacts on Wildlife Habitat ..............................................................................220 Offshore Wind Energy Development and Wildlife ........................................... 223

Some Key Challenges for Resolving Wildlife and Wind Energy Con¦icts ........... 223 More Credible Scientišc Information is Needed ..............................................224 Policy and Regulatory Issues ............................................................................226 Decision-Making Processes (or Lack Thereof) ................................................. 229 Communication and Information Exchange ..................................................... 231

Conclusions and Looking to the Future ................................................................. 233 Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................234 References ..............................................................................................................234

The aforementioned State of the Union address by President Obama highlights the growing and politically charged demand for development of renewable energy sources, including wind. Wind energy is one of the fastest growing renewable energy sources under development and while representing a clean energy source, it is not environmentally neutral. The impacts of wind energy development on wildlife and their habitats have become an increasing concern and topic of research and political discussion. However, a lack of credible scientišc information, poor or even nonexistent frameworks for decision making, lack of transparency, and weak policies or lack of policy and regulation altogether continue to fuel controversy over wind energy development and wildlife impacts. The issues and challenges presented in this chapter are not all-inclusive, but represent some key factors that must be overcome if wildlife and wind energy development con¦icts are to be resolved such that responsible development that minimizes wildlife impacts can be achieved.