Responsible Offshore Wind Development is a Clear Win for Birds, the U.S. Economy, and our Climate

Too often, the debate over climate solutions centers on perceived trade-offs between habitat conservation and the clean energy transition, preserving community and allowing development, or reducing pollution and maintaining profitability. But responsible clean energy deployment can be balanced with the needs of communities and wildlife, representing a win-win that doesn’t give rise to insurmountable trade-offs. Audubon’s new report, Offshore Wind and Birds: Developing the Offshore Wind that Birds Need, confirms that offshore wind can have immense benefits for birds, people, and the economy. This report advocates for the rapid adoption of offshore wind to combat the climate crisis while protecting birds, supporting coastal communities, and addressing the growing demand from advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies.

The report was published as wildfires rage in California, communities in the Southeastern U.S. continue to deal with severe damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and NASA confirmed that 2024 was the warmest year on record. NASA also found that the world has exceeded the 1.5 degrees Celsius climate threshold—a level of warming that climate scientists warn could lead to irreversible consequences if sustained. Audubon's Survival by Degrees report indicates that over two-thirds of North American bird species could face extinction due to unchecked climate change—a loss that would have dire implications for ecosystems, agriculture, and communities across the country.

The urgency for action on climate change has never been greater. Thankfully, the development of offshore wind can provide a swift and actionable solution to this crisis.

Realizing Offshore Wind’s Potential 

The potential capacity of offshore wind energy off the continental U.S. is remarkable. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the total feasible offshore wind capacity along U.S. coasts is more than three times the total electricity generated nationwide in 2023. By harnessing only 10-13% of this capacity, studies show the U.S. could achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide while creating as many as 390,000 jobs by 2050, fostering new investment and employment opportunities nationwide.

Offshore wind is also advantageous because it can be generated conveniently close to large population centers. In addition, consistent and strong wind speeds help offshore wind provide a steady stream of clean energy back to the grid. By producing offshore wind along the coast, we can utilize clean energy sources while reducing transmission burdens and increasing our capacity to meet growing energy demand. 

Advancing Offshore Wind Development with Bird and Marine Wildlife Conservation

Audubon produced the Birds and Offshore Wind report to examine the best available science regarding the risks to birds. While persistent myths claim widespread and devastating effects of offshore wind turbines on wildlife, the science tells a different story. Our findings clearly indicate that we can responsibly deploy offshore wind in a manner that still protects birds and their habitats. That said, it is important to acknowledge that offshore wind turbines, like all infrastructure, can pose a risk to birds. These risks include turbine collisions, habitat displacement, and avoidance behavior. Fortunately, our research shows developers can effectively manage these risks without significantly increasing project costs. 

To tackle the existing risks, Audubon calls for a four-step planning process:

1. Identify and remove critically important areas for birds from consideration for leasing.
2. Implement proven strategies to minimize the potential for turbines to impact birds.
3. Offset unavoidable impacts, when necessary, through investments in conservation.
4. Monitor bird movements and population trends to ensure solutions are working.

The impact of offshore wind on wildlife is neither disproportionate nor insurmountable. Proven strategies, such as reducing visible lights on turbines and using perching deterrents on turbines, have been effective in addressing bird impacts. 

Utilizing Policy to Help Offshore Wind Meet Its Potential

Effective policy will be crucial in helping the U.S. fully capitalize on offshore wind opportunities and ensure development happens quickly and responsibly. Measures federal legislators and agencies can take include: 

• Providing certainty by safeguarding existing investments and supports like the tax credits included in the Inflation Reduction Act.
• Taking measures that improve outcomes for birds, like requiring developers to embrace new technologies and best management practices that reduce bird collisions. 
• Bolstering investments in research and technology to help developers better understand wildlife interactions with turbines and improve turbine efficiency. 
• Collaborating with developers on Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) to help ensure coastal communities benefit from nearby offshore wind projects, with Congress taking steps to formally incentivize CBAs during the leasing process.
• Improving project siting and federal permitting to speed the deployment of responsible offshore wind projects. Congress can facilitate timely permitting by increasing investments in the permitting workforce at relevant agencies.

State and local governments also play a key role in offshore wind development. States like New York and Massachusetts provide valuable models for working with local communities, Tribes, commercial interests, and the federal government to deploy offshore wind responsibly and rapidly. States are also instrumental in the siting, permitting, and infrastructure development that connects offshore wind energy to the grid, as well as conducting regionally specific environmental studies to help inform the federal permitting process. 

Specific policy recommendations can be found in our Summary and Recommendations for Policymakers companion document here.

Continuing Audubon’s Commitment to Responsible Clean Energy Development

To protect birds from climate impacts and “bend the bird curve” — halting and ultimately reversing bird population declines — Audubon remains committed to responsible clean energy development. As part of that goal, the Audubon network engages with developers on the ground, federal agencies permitting turbines, and policymakers to build offshore wind projects that reduce emissions while safeguarding birds and communities.

Audubon staff will host a webinar overview of the content in the report on Wednesday, February 12. Register here. For more information, visit Audubon's Birds and Clean Energy page or take the clean energy pledge to sign up for updates.