Tuesday, June 23, 12:00 pm ET
The Technology Catalog webinar series continues with a new topic: Wings Unharmed: Global Approaches to Mitigating Wildlife Collisions. This topic features risk minimization technologies from the REWI Technology Catalog that have undergone effectiveness evaluations during the technology’s development. Technologies presented are within a technology readiness level of 6-9 or those that have been made commercially available in the United States or globally.
This webinar introduces participants to scientists, researchers, developers, and manufacturers developing technologies to reduce wind energy risks to birds and bats through AI informed curtailment schedules and 3-dimensional recording of flight tracks. Topics include two current technologies in the REWI Technology Catalog: Optimized Smart Curtailment™ (OSC™) and Thermal Tracker 3D, and followed up with a Q&A on the use of these technologies in renewable energy developments both in the United States and globally to protect wildlife and their habitats.
Moderator: La’ Portia J. Perkins, Project Manager, REWI
Speakers:
- Paul Rabie, Principal Statistician, Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc. (WEST)
- Technology: Optimized Smart Curtailment™ (OSC™)
- Description: A tailored, site-specific bat risk model to design a curtailment algorithm that minimizes energy losses without compromising bat conservation.
- Technology Catalog Link: https://rewi.knack.com/rewi-research-hub#search-for-technologies/technology-profile/673fa712b25fd502bab9a8a0/
- Marcus Chevitarese, Founder, Sightir
- Technology: Thermal Tracker 3D
- Description: A technology that records the flight tracks of birds and bats in three dimensions. The flight track data can be used to analyze bird and bat behavior relative to the actual or theoretical rotor-swept zone of a wind turbine, or solar energy installation.
- Technology Catalog Link: https://rewi.knack.com/rewi-research-hub#search-for-technologies/technology-profile/6501e978b730c60029cee638/
About the Speakers
Paul Rabie is a Principal Statistician based in WEST’s Laramie, Wyoming, office, where he currently works on a variety of wind-wildlife projects, and where he developed WEST’s Optimized Smart Curtailment approach to risk reduction for bats at wind farms. Additionally, Paul has worked on post-construction monitoring design and fatality rate estimation at renewable energy facilities, including for rare species that may not be detected in carcass searches. Paul has worked with industry and government agencies in the United States and internationally to develop methods to estimate impacts to wildlife populations due to renewable energy facilities (wind and solar energy), and is a co-author on the GenEst mortality estimator.
Marcus Chevitarese is the founder and technical leader of Sightir, where he leads the commercialization of rugged, low size, weight, and power (SWaP), edge-enabled imaging systems for environmental monitoring in harsh environments. He brings more than 25 years of experience developing advanced optical, infrared, and remote sensing systems across scientific, defense, telecommunications, automotive, and space applications. At Sightir, he is leading the commercialization of the Thermal Tracker family of instruments, helping biologists and ecologists improve wildlife monitoring for wind energy projects through advanced thermal stereo sensing and edge AI. He also has deep experience scaling technologies from concept to production, including production line development and product launches in emerging technology markets. Mr. Chevitarese holds a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of California, Santa Barbara
Get involved by viewing the renewable energy and wildlife technologies in the REWI Technology Catalog, as well as by contributing new technologies. For more information, please contact La’ Portia Perkins (lperkins@rewi.org).
2026 Technology Catalog Webinars
*recordings available of past webinars*
- From Ideation to Validation: Assessing the Landscape for Validating Wildlife Collision Risk Minimization Technologies (February 19, 2026)
- Wings Unharmed: Global Approaches to Mitigating Wildlife Collisions – Part 1 (June 22, 2026)
- Wings Unharmed: Global Approaches to Mitigating Wildlife Collisions – Part 2 (June 23, 2026)
- Wings Unharmed: Global Approaches to Mitigating Wildlife Collisions – Part 3 (September 25, 2026)
Interested in supporting REWI webinars? REWI is now offering sponsorship opportunities for our 2026 Webinars — including this one! Sponsorship helps us keep these events accessible and informative while providing your organization with meaningful visibility across the renewable energy and wildlife community