Mitigating the Effects of Wind Farms on Birds and Bats Chad Browning Biodiversity Officer, DELWP

Outline Overview of wind farm development in Victoria DELWP’s role in wind farm projects and mitigating bird and bat mortality Current practice and novel approaches Challenges and opportunities

DELWP’s Role Mitigation hierarchy applied during the approvals and operational stages Minister for Planning is RA for planning permits Input from various groups, divisions and branches within DELWP

Mitigation Approaches – Avoiding Impacts Project Planning Stage: Macro-siting: Informed site selection Micro-siting: Set-backs Repowering Stage: Potentially fewer turbines Informed re-siting

Mitigation Approaches – Minimising Impacts

Mitigation Approaches – Offsetting Impacts

Challenges and Opportunities Inconsistent approaches to mitigation Risk of impact minimisation and offsetting overshadowing the need for robust assessments and impact avoidance Keeping up with best practice Establishing mitigation triggers

Contact Details