September 15, 2025 – The 8th Conference on Wind Energy and Wildlife Impact – CWW 2025 took place in Montpellier, France, from 8 to 12 September 2025, under the theme “Coexistence in a Changing World: Sharing Existing Knowledge, Challenges and Emerging Solutions”. It brought together more than 1,000 experts, researchers, developers, NGOs, and regulators to exchange knowledge on how to balance renewable energy development with wildlife protection.
For Oikon, CWW has always been a key event. Two years ago, in 2023, Oikon organised CWW 2023 in Šibenik, Croatia, alongside Supernatural, bringing this global conference to Southeast Europe for the first time. This year in Montpellier, our team once again played an active role in the scientific programme and the wider dialogue on sustainable wind energy development.
Oral presentation: Brown bears and wind turbines
Oikon’s large carnivore expert, Dr. Slaven Reljić gave an insightful presentation entitled “Brown bear females, cubs and wind turbines”, presenting the latest findings from telemetry studies of brown bear females with cubs in Croatia and Serbia. The research showed brown bear behaviour and habitat use in the months following birth and emergence from the den in spring. When planning new wind farms and other infrastructure, it is essential to preserve denning areas within defined buffer no-construction zones to minimise impacts on brown bear reproduction.
Posters: Advancing methods for wind–wildlife assessments
Oikon’s research team also contributed three posters:
- Further technical improvements in vantage points localisation: improving observation quality, economic efficiency and SNH (2017) compliance
Authors: Bruno Ćaleta, Dora Čuljak, Ivana Latković, Josip Nikolić, Ksenija Hocenski, Branimir Radun - Variations in estimation of birds’ flight height – example from an on-shore wind farm project in Croatia
Authors: Dr. Nela Jantol, Dora Čuljak, Ksenija Hocenski, Gordana Iskrić, Josip Nikolić, Ivana Latković - Improvements in the method of collecting the data required for the PCFM: Searcher efficiency and carcass persistence
Authors: Dorian Tepić, Dora Čuljak, Ivana Latković, Josip Nikolić, Lovro Turkalj, Ksenija Hocenski
These studies show how science-based refinements in methodology lead to more reliable data, better impact assessments, and more effective mitigation measures.
Shutdown on Demand as a key topic
One of the central topics of CWW 2025 was Shutdown on Demand (SDoD), a technology that reduces bird collisions with wind turbines by triggering temporary turbine stops when risk is detected. It was addressed not only in the pre-conference workshop “Shutdown on Demand for Birds: The State of Science of Observer-led and Automated Shutdown on Demand”, but also in several oral sessions and posters throughout the week.
As the regional representative for SDoD solutions from IdentiFlight, Robin Radar, and ProtecBird, Oikon supports investors and operators across Southeast Europe in applying these tools to balance renewable energy growth with biodiversity protection. We also gained insights that are highly relevant for our work with investors and operators across the region.
The ERWC sponsorship
Throughout the conference, Oikon also participated at the European Renewable Energy & Wildlife Consortium (ERWC) stand, together with our partners Waardenburg Ecology (Netherlands), Ecosphere (France), and NCC (Greece). We are pleased to have supported this conference as a platinum sponsor within ERWC, demonstrating our active role in connecting the renewable energy and biodiversity sectors and supporting the exchange of knowledge and collaboration among experts.
CWW 2027 in Spain
Inspiring discussions, strong networking, and the exchange of practical solutions for the challenges at the crossroads of energy and biodiversity marked CWW 2025. Oikon is proud to contribute to this dialogue, bringing regional expertise to a global stage and returning with new insights for our work in Croatia and Southeast Europe.
We congratulate this year’s hosts, Biotope and France Renewables, and the Scientific Committee, led by David Tidhar, for their outstanding organisation and content. The Oikon team is already looking forward to the next CWW 2027 in Málaga, Spain.