Environmental Science

NREL conducts wind-wildlife interaction research to develop effective monitoring, modeling, and minimization solutions.

NREL collaborates with government agencies, academic institutions, environmental groups, and industry stakeholders to investigate and optimize monitoring and minimization strategies for impacts of wind energy infrastructure through co-use evaluation, technology development, siting policies, and operations planning. The lab's technical experts work with stakeholders to promote decisions that meet both conservation and industry goals, including lowering financial risk while minimizing wildlife interactions.

Capabilities

Environmental Processes and Impact Assessment

NREL combines decades of field research experience, computational capabilities, and infrastructure to advance technologies such as thermal video cameras and multicomponent systems that can monitor wildlife impacts at wind energy facilities. We also develop models that integrate biological, meteorological, and wind turbine data to inform siting and operational decisions.

Capabilities include:

• Utility-scale research studies
• Computational modeling and statistical analyses
• Wind turbine instrumentation, measurements, and data collection
• Spatial analyses.

Biologic Understanding

NREL investigates behavioral and physiological characteristics of wildlife. Our research-based approach optimizes monitoring and minimization strategies, providing a suite of technologies to meet the various needs of the wind energy and wildlife community.

Capabilities include:

• Biology and behavior
• Partnership networks
• Environmental reviews and modeling
• Monitoring instrumentation and data-collecting technologies.

Cost-Effective Mitigation

NREL leads multistakeholder collaborations to address complex issues with all perspectives represented. Our engagement and outreach activities foster dialogue among partners and promote decisions that meet both conservation and energy production goals.

Capabilities include:

• Impact evaluation and monitoring programs
• Mitigation strategy development and assessment.

Projects

Enabling Coexistence Options for Wind Energy and Wildlife Program

The Enabling Coexistence Options for Wind Energy and Wildlife program at NREL's Flatirons Campus supports efforts to protect vulnerable wildlife species while ensuring sustainable deployment of wind energy.

Resources and Tools

Tethys Knowledge Hub (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Database)

Stochastic Soaring Raptor Simulator (GitHub)

Wind Energy with Bat AI-based Tracker (GitHub)

Explore all of NREL's wind energy facilities and data and tools.

View all wind publications.

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