Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute

Programs: Science for policy and practice: advancement of wind energy development while conserving wildlife requires accurate and up-to-date scientific information. Awwi is a preeminent international leader in improving the understanding and documentation of the impacts of wind energy to wildlife, and catalyzing the development of effective mitigation strategies that are readily applied. Awwi's research initiatives will advance as approaches to mitigating wind energy's impacts on wildlife evolve. Awwi expands the knowledge base and assists decision makers in their efforts to avoid, minimize, and compensate for impacts to species and habitat that are potentially vulnerable to wind energy development. Awwi's current science work is focused on eagles, bats, prairie grouse, and reporting the facts.

technological innovations: much has been learned about predicting, avoiding, minimizing, and mitigating wildlife impacts due to wind power from research and monitoring conducted at individual wind projects. Innovations in technology will improve our ability to predict and mitigate these impacts. Awwi catalyzes this needed innovation and then verifies the conservation benefits of solutions. Awwi technological innovations work is focused on: creating a fully functioning american wind wildlife information center that improves wildlife risk assessment, resulting in reduced impacts; a current comprehensive landscape assessment tool, which incorporates analysis from results of awwic-data analysis, to help developers avoid areas of conservation importance and minimize impacts to wildlife; and a dedicated hub for innovation in the development of effective and economical detection and deterrent technologies that minimize impacts to wildlife from operating projects.

information exchange: technological innovations and scientific advancements produced by awwi are only as strong as 1) the integrity of our work, 2) partners and key decision makers' acceptance and use of the results, and 3) our ability to communicate results to relevant audiences. Awwi is incorporating outreach and education for implementation in each of our program initiatives (above). Each of our initiatives and products is designed with relevant audiences in mind and is accompanied by a strategy to deliver results to the maximum number of key parties in the wind industry, science and conservation community, government sectors (and public, as relevant). In addition, it is imperative that awwi information and the efforts of others are easily accessible to partners and friends and the wider wind-wildlife stakeholder community. By serving as a source and forum for information, awwi solidifies its reputation as a trusted institute known for accurate information on wind and wildlife and the place partners and friends and staff from the federal and state regulatory community turn to address the toughest challenges. This role strengthens existing relationships that are crucial for the success and implementation of awwi's work and sparks new relationships, ensuring it stays abreast of wind-wildlife efforts around the world and avoiding unnecessary duplication.