As Australia fast-tracks its transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, new research from Monash University urges the burgeoning offshore wind sector to base decisions on robust ecological evidence to prevent unintended harm to wildlife — particularly iconic seabird species like the albatross.
Monash researchers have produced a practical guide to seabird flight behaviour, designed to assist policymakers and renewable energy developers in protecting seabirds from the risk of colliding with offshore wind turbines as new projects move through environmental assessment processes.
The offshore wind industry in Australia is still in its early developmental phase; the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is in the process of granting feasibility licences for six declared offshore wind development areas.
All licensees must still adhere to strict environmental requirements and undertake community consultations.
Lead author Dr Mark Miller, Research Fellow at the Monash School of Biological Sciences, highlighted the critical role of scientific data: “This will help scientists and policy makers better understand and mitigate the risks of these unique seabirds colliding with offshore wind turbines.
“Australia is developing a comprehensive environmental and cultural impact assessment process for new wind infrastructure, but with no offshore wind farms in the Southern Hemisphere yet, there are still key gaps in knowledge.
“One of these is that we currently have a poor understanding of seabird flight behaviour and how this might influence collision risks for iconic species such as albatrosses and petrels.”
The guide compiles published data on the flight patterns of 119 seabird species, providing evidence-based insights into how high, how fast, and at which times of day species such as albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, and storm-petrels take to the air.
However, Dr Miller highlighted urgent gaps: “This is a crucial information gap, and one that should be a priority action for the offshore wind industry.
“Seabirds typically fly close to the ocean surface, so raising the height of turbines is one very practical way to mitigate collision risk.
“The work we have done aims to constructively inform policy development at the intersection of biodiversity conservation and renewable energy; two areas inherently linked.”
The stakes are high. Most seabird populations are in decline, decreasing by up to 70 per cent globally over the last 50 years, and families like albatrosses and petrels are both among the most abundant and most threatened, elevating their conservation priority.
Associate Professor Rohan Clarke, Head of the Research, Ecology and Conservation Group at Monash, stressed the importance of cross-sector collaboration: “Our job is to help deliver the best possible outcomes for biodiversity, and addressing climate change through large-scale action is essential to that goal.
“One of the key challenges we face is what’s known as the ‘green-green dilemma’, where initiatives designed to reduce environmental impact, such as renewable energy development, can unintentionally harm other ecological values.
“But we must identify evidence-based solutions to these competing priorities, because climate change remains the single greatest threat to biodiversity.
“The energy transition isn’t optional, it’s essential, and finding solutions that support both climate goals and nature is critical.”
As renewable infrastructure expands rapidly — requiring installation of about forty wind turbines a month to meet national emissions targets — the Monash study signals that Australia’s energy transition must be implemented with nature-positive policies to deliver lasting benefits for both people and wildlife.
