Cumulative adverse effects of offshore wind energy development on wildlife

Abstract

Offshore wind energy development (OWED) is being pursued as a critical component in achieving a low-carbon energy economy. While the potential generating capacity is high, the cumulative effects of expansion of OWED on wildlife remain unclear. Since environmental regulations in many countries require analysis of the cumulative adverse effects (CAE) during permitting processes, this paper reviews the state of knowledge on CAE of OWED on wildlife. We synthesize ecological research on the effects of OWED on wildlife; delineate a framework for determining the scope of CAE assessments; describe approaches to avoiding, minimizing and compensating for CAE; and discuss critical uncertainties.

Keywords:

• adverse effects
• cumulative effects
• mitigation
• offshore wind farm
• wildlife

Acknowledgements

We thank Anthony Fox, James Manwell, and Kristopher Winiarski for friendly reviews, and Marie Malin and Whitney Oppersdorff for assistance with editing and the figure development. Additionally, we would like to acknowledge the Wildlife Science and Marine Wind Energy Initiative hosted by Biodiversity Research Institute, which contributed to the authors' understanding of the adverse effects of OWED on wildlife, as well as the application of the Crichton (1999) framework.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation-sponsored Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT): Offshore Wind Energy Engineering, Environmental Science, and Policy [grant number 1068864].