Wind Energy Habitat Conservation Plans: Overview of Species, Monitoring Requirements, Mitigation, and Take Estimation Methods

Wind energy development is growing and will continue for the next several years due to the extension of the energy production tax credits. Wind energy projects may need the coverage of an incidental take permit (ITP) to limit... [ view full abstract ]

Wind energy development is growing and will continue for the next several years due to the extension of the energy production tax credits. Wind energy projects may need the coverage of an incidental take permit (ITP) to limit their risk under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for activities associated with construction or operation. With the potential listing of additional bird, bat, and other wildlife species and the development of wind energy projects in locations where impacts on listed species are possible, more project developers may be pursuing incidental take coverage. To obtain an ITP under Section 10 of the ESA, a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) must be developed that describes the 1) covered species, 2) avoidance and minimization measures, 3) methods for assessing estimated take, 4) mitigation to compensate for anticipated impacts on each covered species, 5) adaptive management, and 6) monitoring requirements. Additionally, several states such as Hawaii also have state ESA laws which require incidental take coverage in addition to the federal ESA.
A number of HCPs have been prepared or approved for wind projects over the past 10 years with several individual and programmatic HCPs currently under development. The requested incidental take, monitoring methods and requirements, and associated mitigation have evolved as new data have become available and interpretation of HCP requirements have changed. Some HCPs are also including eagles which will then need to address the eagle incidental take permit guidelines.
We present a summary of the approved wind energy HCPs and publicly available draft wind energy HCPs to provide a summary of approaches to HCP development and discuss current trends in wind energy development and HCP implementation that may need to be considered by project developers. For example, current trends suggest that more Hawaiian hoary bat fatalities are occurring in Hawaii than previously anticipated, and additional bat species may need to be considered for incidental coverage as white-nosed syndrome continues to spread across the continental U.S. and impact bat populations. Some developers must also decide whether to include eagles in the HCP or apply for incidental take coverage separately. Furthermore, developers may need to assess how take limits and triggers for mitigation or adaptive management may also be affected by current and evolving fatality estimators. By understanding the similarities, differences, and interactions of these wind HCPs, both developers and operators can evaluate their existing or proposed projects to determine how to apply lessons learned and approaches from existing and proposed HCPs.