Webinars for Marine and Wind Energy and the Environment

The International Energy Agency Wind Task 59: Wind energy-environmental Research & Engagement Network (WREN) (formerly Task 34) hosted a webinar, “Wind Turbine Design and Bats", on 6 November 2024 from 12:00-1:00pm EST (5:00-6:00pm UTC). During the webinar, researchers from the United States presented findings on how turbine size and wake influence bat interactions.

Speakers:

La Agencia Internacional de Energía en su Tarea 34 de Energía Eólica (WREN, por sus siglas en Inglés) organizará un seminario web, "Energía Eólica en América Latina: Soluciones Ambientales y Mejores Prácticas", el 23 de octubre de 2024, de 11:00 a. m. a 12:00 p. m. MDT (5:00 a 6:00 p. m. UTC). Durante el seminario web, investigadores de Argentina, Brasil y Estados Unidos discutirán sobre energía eólica en América Latina y soluciones y mejores prácticas ambientales. El seminario web se realizará en español y portugués.

The International Energy Agency Task 34, Working Together to Resolve Environmental Effects of Wind Energy (WREN), hosted a webinar, "Using eDNA for wind energy and wildlife studies", on 17 October 2024 from 10:00am-11:00am EDT (2:00pm-3:00pm UTC). During the webinar, researchers from France and the United States presented their research on the feasibility of using environmental DNA, or eDNA, to detect marine wildlife.

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OES-Environmental hosted a public webinar, "The State of the Science on Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy" on 2 October 2024.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Enabling Coexistence Options for Wind Energy and Wildlife (ECO Wind) project is hosting a multi-part webinar series, “Perspectives on Wind-Wildlife Constraints to Buildout”, which will feature experts from diverse fields related to, but outside of, the wind-wildlife domain. Over the three-part series, experts will address three major constraints to wind energy buildout: siting, operations, and technology.

The U.S. Offshore Wind Synthesis of Environmental Effects Research (SEER) effort, led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with support from the U.S.

The U.S. Offshore Wind Synthesis of Environmental Effects Research (SEER) effort, led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with support from the U.S.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Enabling Coexistence Options for Wind Energy and Wildlife (ECO Wind) project is pleased to announce a multi-part webinar series, “Perspectives on Wind-Wildlife Constraints to Buildout”, which will feature experts from diverse fields related to, but outside of, the wind-wildlife domain. Over the three-part series, experts will address three major constraints to wind energy buildout: siting, operations, and technology.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) hosted an informational Marine Energy Career Panel on February 7, 2024. The panel featured National Laboratory staff from PNNL, NREL, and Sandia National Laboratories working to advance the marine energy industry.

The International Energy Agency Wind Task 34, Working Together to Resolve Environmental Effects of Wind Energy (WREN), hosted a webinar, "Wind Energy and Terrestrial Mammals", on 5 February 2024 from 11:00am-12:00pm EST (4:00-5:00pm UTC). During the webinar, presenters from Brazil, Portugal, and the United States discussed how jaguars and pumas, wolves, and pronghorn antelope interact with wind energy facilities.

La Agencia Internacional de Energía en su Tarea 34 de Energía Eólica (WREN, por sus siglas en Inglés)  organizará su 23º seminario web y su primer seminario web en español, “Energía eólica y vida silvestre: perspectivas desde América Latina”, el 10 de enero de 2024 de 11:00am-12:00 pm PST (7:00pm-8:00 pm UTC). El seminario web contará con ponentes de Argentina, Chile y México.

Vea el folleto en español aquí. 

Oradores: 

The Portal and Repository for Information on Marine Renewable Energy (PRIMRE) team recently launched a new and improved version of Telesto, which is home to open-source wiki pages, structured databases, and tools that provide information about the development life cycle of marine energy.

In some cases, alternatives to traditional compensation measures may provide significant conservation value. Examples include conservation actions that occur outside the region of the potential impact and funding research as a means of compensation. This webinar will explore outside-the-box ideas, examples of successful compensation alternatives, and situations in which innovative conservation actions may be necessary. Expert stakeholders will discuss the tradeoffs of implementing alternative compensation measures and when these may or may not be appropriate.

Grouse are considered an umbrella species because of their close connection to the surrounding habitat. The prairies and sage-brush where grouse reside are disappearing as a result of many stressors, including invasive species, climate change, and human development. Thus, any new disturbance or loss of habitat can significantly impact the species. Proper siting of wind energy facilities can avoid potential impacts to the species or their habitat, but it is likely that compensation measures will be needed to ensure there is no net loss.

The Tethys team has partnered with IEA Wind’s WREN Initiative to collect information, or metadata, on the environmental effects of offshore wind energy projects on marine animals, habitats, and ecosystem processes. By making this information available, Tethys and WREN aim to enhance transparency around environmental monitoring efforts to progress the global state of knowledge and advance the industry in an environmentally responsible manner.

This webinar will introduce two of the more common methods for instituting compensatory mitigation: mitigation banks and in lieu fee programs. Speakers will provide backgrounds on how each of these mechanisms work and provide case studies under which these programs have been used to conserve wildlife affected by wind energy development.

Moderator: Cris Hein, NREL

Speakers: 

OES-E Environmental provided updates on progress to date and what's to come in the 2024 State of the Science report. OES-Environmental talked about the important role of coordinating and disseminating research on environmental effects of MRE and practical applications of OES-Environmental resources. Joe Haxel from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's (PNNL) Triton initiative and Doug Gillespie from the University of St. Andrew's Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) joined OES-Environmental to discuss their efforts to expand our understanding by highlighting examples from their research around two key stressor-receptor interactions - underwater noise and collision risk.

The initial webinar will focus on the regulatory mechanisms that determine requirements for compensation. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) both require compensatory mitigation for individual species if adverse impacts occur at wind energy facilities. Experts will present U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state-specific policies and regulations, including recent policy updates for compensatory mitigation under the ESA, that influence the implementation of compensation measures.

The U.S. Offshore Wind Synthesis of Environmental Effects Research (SEER) project is hosting a free, public webinar series to share the latest research on the potential environmental effects of offshore wind energy development, including minimization and monitoring strategies. Each webinar will feature brief presentations from experts, a panel discussion, and an audience Q&A period.

The Portal and Repository for Information on Marine Renewable Energy (PRIMRE) hosted a public webinar on 23 August 2023 from 10:00-11:00am MDT (4:00-5:00pm UTC).

Using a novel approach called environmental DNA (eDNA), aquatic species can be identified in water samples from the genetic material contained in discarded tissue (e.g., fish scales, mucus). This approach provides a non-invasive, cost effective, and reliable method for monitoring the presence and distribution of fish in water bodies. Current fish monitoring approaches are often challenging (e.g., cost, safety) to implement in the high energy environments targeted for tidal energy development and eDNA can provide a reliable alternative.

The U.S. Offshore Wind Synthesis of Environmental Effects Research (SEER) project is hosting a free, public webinar series to share the latest research on the potential environmental effects of offshore wind energy development, including minimization and monitoring strategies. Each webinar will feature brief presentations from experts, a panel discussion, and an audience Q&A period.

The U.S. Offshore Wind Synthesis of Environmental Effects Research (SEER) project is hosting a free, public webinar series to share the latest research on the potential environmental effects of offshore wind energy development, including minimization and monitoring strategies. Each webinar will feature brief presentations from experts, a panel discussion, and an audience Q&A period.

To accelerate the roll-out of renewables, the EU aims to significantly shorten renewable energy permitting processes, in some cases to one year. To hit that one-year mark, guidance and information must be readily available. These will help regulators to set up appropriate requirements for applicants and developers to provide quality applications.

The U.S. Offshore Wind Synthesis of Environmental Effects Research (SEER) project is hosting a free, public webinar series to share the latest research on the potential environmental effects of offshore wind energy development, including minimization and monitoring strategies. Each webinar will feature brief presentations from experts, a panel discussion, and an audience Q&A period.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Task 34, Working Together to Resolve Environmental Effects of Wind Energy (WREN), hosted a webinar, Compensating the Impacts of Offshore Wind Energy on Birds, on 16 May 2023 from 11:00am-12:00pm EDT (3:00-4:00pm UTC). The webinar provided an overview of the mitigation hierarchy, and discuss compensation measures from the United Kingdom and the United States. 

Speakers:

Working Together to Resolve Environmental Effects of Wind Energy (WREN) is hosting a webinar, Influence of Offshore Wind Turbines on Marine Habitats and Ecosystems, on 3 May from 10:00-11:00am EDT (2:00-3:00pm UTC). The webinar will discuss the state of the science on the impacts of offshore wind turbines on the marine environment, and how researchers monitor and minimize these impacts.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) hosted an informational Marine Energy Career Panel featuring National Laboratory staff working to advance the marine energy industry on April 10, 2023. The webinar was aimed at current students and those interested in working in the marine energy industry.

Speaker Pam Loring is a Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Migratory Birds and works on a range of projects related to the conservation and management of shorebirds and seabirds with a focus on offshore wind energy. She received a PhD in Environmental Conservation from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a MS in Biological and Environmental Sciences from the University of Rhode Island.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute are hosting a Technology and Innovation in Wind Energy and Wildlife webinar series to explore the evolution of turbine technology. The third webinar, "Wind Wildlife Research Meeting Technology & Innovation Discussions Continued ", will take place from 2:00-3:00pm EST (7:00-8:00pm UTC) on 16 February 2023.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute are hosting a Technology and Innovation in Wind Energy and Wildlife webinar series to explore the evolution of turbine technology. The third webinar, "Technology Acceptance Workshop Results: Acceptance", will take place from 1:00-2:00pm EST (6:00-7:00pm UTC) on 9 February 2023.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute are hosting a Technology and Innovation in Wind Energy and Wildlife webinar series to explore the evolution of turbine technology. The second webinar, "Technology Acceptance Workshop Results: From the Bench to the Field", will take place from 3:00-4:00pm EST (8:00-9:00pm UTC) on 31 January 2023.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute are hosting a Technology and Innovation in Wind Energy and Wildlife webinar series to explore the evolution of turbine technology. The first webinar, "The Future of Wind Energy Technology and Wildlife Considerations", will take place from 3:00-4:00pm EST (8:00-9:00pm UTC) on 26 January 2023.

OES-Environmental hosted a webinar on 19 January 2023, from 3:30 – 5:00pm UTC (7:30 – 9:00am PST) to share tools for designing and siting marine renewable energy (MRE; wave, tide, ocean current, salinity and temperature gradient) projects with environmental effects in mind. This webinar highlighted OES-Environmental's Management Measures Tool, AZTI's Wave Energy Converter - Environmental Risk Assessment (WEC-ERA) Tool, and the Marine Energy Environmental Toolkit for Permitting and Licensing developed by Kearns & West.

In this webinar Henrik Skov, with DHI, will discuss movement models within the New York Bight and explore the concept of movement models within the broader context of offshore wind.

In this webinar, Stacey Snow and Melanie Holtz, with Jacobs, discuss air quality compliance for offshore wind, including permitting requirements, pollutions controls, and environmental justice considerations.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Enabling Coexistence Options for Wind Energy and Wildlife (ECO Wind) program is hosting a webinar on the state of knowledge on bat populations from 9:00-10:30 AM PT (4:00-5:30 PM UTC) on 25 October 2022. 

To support nearshore wave climate research and wave energy development in the U.S., long-term, high-resolution, regional wave hindcast datasets were generated using unstructured-grid Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) models for the U.S. coastal waters, including those bordering U.S. territory islands. This large effort was funded by the US Department of Energy, Water Power Technologies Office and carried out by a joint research team of Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

OES-Environmental hosted a public webinar, “From Science to Consenting: OES-Environmental 2022 Highlights”, from 8:00-9:00am PDT (3:00-4:00pm UTC) on September 22, 2022. During this webinar the OES-Environmental team provided updates on risk retirement, guidance documents, and outreach efforts, and will also detail current focus areas for OES-Environmental research. View the recording and other materials below.

In this webinar, Dr. Gregory S. Poulos, PHD (CEO and Principal Atmospheric Scientist ArcVera Renewables) discusses Offshore Wind Flow Modeling. Greg has developed detailed energy analysis for over 15,000-MW of operating wind since entering the technical-side of the renewable energy industry in 2007, and worked on over 35% of all installed wind energy projects in the US, and the first wind farms in several US states, and the countries El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala.

As part of its mission to support the global deployment of wind energy through a better understanding of environmental issues, Working Together to Resolve Environmental Effects of Wind Energy (WREN) recently launched a new technology tool as a reference of available strategies for monitoring and mitigating the environmental effects of land-based and offshore wind energy development.

The Portal and Repository for Information on Marine Renewable Energy (PRIMRE) recently developed a new Marine Energy Projects Database that provides a catalog of devices, projects, and test sites around the world. The database provides a history of past efforts so the industry may learn from past successes and failures, provides additional outreach for developers, and provides a broad overview of progress in the sector.

On September 1st, join Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) researchers to learn about environmental monitoring around marine energy devices. Lenaig Hemery will discuss changes in habitat followed by a discussion on marine energy sustainability and life cycle assessments with Alicia Amerson and Tyler Harris.

To find out more about Triton, visit https://www.pnnl.gov/projects/triton.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is hosting a webinar, ‘Understanding Bat Interactions with Wind Turbines’, on 30 August 2022 from 12:00pm–1:00pm (EDT). The webinar will introduce three projects, led by Bowman, the Electric Power Research Institute, and Stantec Consulting Services, focused on using thermal video cameras to monitor bat behavior at wind turbines.

You are invited to participate in session 6 of Triton Talks, a webinar series discussing the US DOE Water Power Technologies Office Triton Initiative’s research on environmental monitoring technologies and methods used to evaluate environmental stressors linked to marine energy devices.

On July 27th, join Joe Haxel, Alicia Amerson and Morgan Pattison to learn about Triton’s research on the environmental effects of underwater noise and anthropogenic light associated with marine energy.

Working Together to Resolve Environmental Effects of Wind Energy (WREN) hosted a webinar on 29 June 2022 from 10:00-11:00am EDT (2:00-3:00pm UTC) to present the results of the WREN Horizon Scan. 

The webinar highlighted results of stakeholder feedback from 294 responses across 28 countries identifying environmental priorities related to land-based and offshore wind energy development. Panelists from several WREN member countries will provide their perspective on the assessment and priority research within the next 5-10 years.

In this webinar, Rebecca Karp and Andel Koester (Karp Strategies) will discuss stakeholder engagement and offshore wind. Karp Strategies has supported NYSERDA with the creation of a free, open source offshore wind curriculum aimed at teenagers and educators and developed the agency’s Guiding Principles for Stakeholder Engagement for developers; assessed the feasibility of port infrastructure for OSW; analyzed MWBE procurement in the supply chain in Maine; and supported Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind with their stakeholder engagement strategy.

On June 16th, join fish biologist Garrett Staines in the 5th session of the Triton Talks webinar series to learn about strategies and methods developed to assess collision risk associated with marine energy installations. He will dive into how Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers worked to understand these risks utilizing various technology such as acoustic cameras around turbines. 

The Marine Energy Data Pipeline effort, led by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), has released the latest version of the data ingestion pipeline, Tsdat.

Tsdat is built to help users read, process, run quality control, and convert raw data to standard formats, with the goal of reducing the time spent on data wrangling while producing high-quality standardized datasets. It is a template-based, open-source Python framework that can be used both in a local environment and on commercial cloud pipelines.

You are invited to participate in Session 4 of Triton Talks, a webinar series discussing the US DOE Water Power Technologies Office Triton Initiative’s research on environmental monitoring technologies and methods used to evaluate environmental stressors linked to marine energy devices.