Podolsky has contributed substantially to preconstruction studies of birds, bats and other wildlife at over 80 wind power projects.
These projects are geographically diverse and include New England, the Great Plains, the South West, West Coast and Hawaii. Approximately half of the projects conducted are in the coastal zone and 10 have been offshore assessments. Podolsky’s focus has been pre-construction studies and post construction monitoring.
Of note is the 12 months of offshore bird and marine mammal surveys conducted in Buzzards Bay Massachusetts. This project entailed coordination of a team of biologist observers, boats and the deployment of a floating, offshore avian radar station that Podolsky designed.
Podolsky holds the US Patent #7,315,799 – Method of and Article of Manufacture for Determining Probability of Avian Collision. This model, called “ARC – Avian Risk of Collision” has been used to predict and model annual bird mortality at a dozen wind power projects and most notably for a wind power project sited in the middle of critical habitat for the Hawaiian Petrel and Newell’s Shearwater on Maui.
Podolsky has been Scientific Advisor to the Mineral Management Service (MMS) in their risk assessment of the impact of offshore wind to Roseate Terns, Red Knots and Piping Plovers. Podolsky is a member of the impact assessment and regulatory subcommittees of the Governor of Maine’s Offshore Wind Power Task Force.