Technology Gaps for Monitoring Birds and Marine Mammals at Offshore Wind Facilities

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Abstract With increased focus on offshore wind (OSW) as a renewable energy resource in the United States and elsewhere, there are concerns about OSW impacts to wildlife, particularly birds and marine mammals. This study identifies technology gaps and technological research and development (R&D) priorities for monitoring marine mammals and birds for fixed and floating OSW. A synthesis of current monitoring technologies generated two databases (with over 100 technologies) that can be integrated in current technology repositories for renewable energy projects. Generally, the key technology R&D needs are similar for birds and marine mammals. The main exception is that some types of bird technologies are more likely to require direct integration with OSW infrastructure, whereas marine mammal systems tend to operate independently. Priorities to advance wildlife monitoring include improved early communication, harmonization of technologies and data collection for monitoring systems on OSW structures, battery/power access improvements, remote data transfer improvements, and advancements in automated collection and analysis of data. The successful integration of wildlife monitoring systems into OSW infrastructure and operations is dependent on remote access mechanisms for data collection, system maintenance, and data transfer, in order to minimize risks to worker safety in the offshore environment, as well as minimizing costs and disruption to normal operational activities. Application of the results of this study to prioritize and fund technology R&D will help to support statistically robust data collection and practicable integration of monitoring systems into OSW operations and infrastructure.