Sharing Information on Environmental Effects of Wind Energy Development: WREN Hub

Resolving environmental effects of wind energy

“…Metrics used to track the use of Tethys material indicates that the information reaches a broad audience and that WREN Hub supports the wind energy and wildlife community, ensures that current information is widely shared, and helps to minimize duplication of research effort to answer important questions (Copping et al, ). WREN Hub continues to be a stable, reliable resource and fulfills its purpose of enhancing understanding about the interactions of wind energy development with wildlife and acts as a tool to help decrease concerns and resolve conflicts about development of this low‐carbon energy source.…”

“…Research and monitoring of wildlife interactions with all aspects of wind energy (turbines, towers, and transmission lines) has been underway for decades (Strickland et al, 2011), and yet the results of such studies are not always readily available. As both the well-established land-based wind and the more nascent offshore wind industries continue to develop, the potential for legal and social acceptability must be considered, as well as the considerable uncertainty associated with environmental effects that hinders progress (Copping, Hanna, & Whiting, 2017;Musial & Ram, 2010;States et al, 2012). Sharing such information on the environmental effects of land-based and offshore wind energy development can: inform siting and permitting/consenting processes, allow for continued modification of equipment and operations to reduce risks to wildlife and their habitat by analyzing trends and data, and help the research community support the expansion of the wind energy industry, and emphasize the benefits to species at risk from lowering carbon emissions (Copping et al, 2017).…”

“…WREN Hub (Figure 1) is an online collaborative space created to support outreach and engagement for the international WREN initiative by disseminating knowledge and information. WREN Hub acts as a platform to bring together the international wind energy community, providing the means for researchers, regulators, developers, and key stakeholders to interact and pursue a better understanding of the potential effects of wind energy on wildlife, habitats, and ecosystem processes (Copping et al, 2017). In addition, WREN Hub also supports WREN international activities by facilitating collaborative work, such as white papers and other planned products.…”

“…A few key attributes of Tethys include the Knowledge Base of over 3,500 curated documents−over 2,300 of which are directly relevant to wind energy−a Map Viewer, which displays Knowledge Base content that is georeferenced on a world map, webinars hosted on a quarterly basis and archived on Tethys, an interactive calendar of events, and Tethys Blasts, biweekly user updates that include new Tethys content, current news, and events. Metrics used to track the use of Tethys material indicates that the information reaches a broad audience and that WREN Hub supports the wind energy and wildlife community, ensures that current information is widely shared, and helps to minimize duplication of research effort to answer important questions (Copping et al, 2017). WREN Hub continues to be a stable, reliable resource and fulfills its purpose of enhancing understanding about the interactions of wind energy development with wildlife and acts as a tool to help decrease concerns and resolve conflicts about development of this low-carbon energy source.…”