Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Awards $3.1 Million to Facilitate 'Wildlife-Friendly' Renewable Energy Development
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Awards $3.1 Million to Facilitate 'Wildlife-Friendly' Renewable Energy Development
The
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
has announced a three-year, $3.1 million grant to support a project aimed at promoting wildlife-friendly and environmentally responsible renewable energy development.
The grant will help increase the capacity of the Defenders of Wildlife, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Wilderness Society and bolster their coordinated efforts to inform various administrative and legislative processes related to choosing appropriate sites for renewable energy. "The ultimate objective should be a uniform, predictable, and proactive approach to renewable energy siting and to land conservation that protects wildlife and wild lands while allowing renewable energy production to ramp up quickly," said Andrew Bowman, director of DDCF's
environment
program.
Jim Lyons, who served as undersecretary for natural resources and environment at the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the Clinton administration, has joined the Defenders of Wildlife to lead the project as senior director for renewable energy.
"The Gulf disaster gives us a tragic reminder of why the transition to renewable energy is so essential, and this generous grant will enhance ongoing efforts to ensure that needed new renewable energy facilities tread lightly on our public lands," said Wilderness Society president William Meadows. "Smart planning should put wind, solar, and geothermal in the right places, avoiding sensitive wild lands and wildlife habitat."
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