Director, Environmental Affairs
Vestas
Dave Phillips is an established environmental professional and permitting expert with technical expertise in siting, permitting, risk assessment, and agency/stakeholder coordination for utility scale power generation. He is a Certified Wildlife Biologist that has worked throughout the U.S. to address challenging environmental and regulatory issues facing large infrastructure projects, including land-based wind and solar, offshore wind and associated port upgrades, as well as transmission line, pipeline, and oil and gas field developments. His success with federal, state and local permitting and compliance processes is substantial, as is his experience managing and working with diverse interdisciplinary teams to develop responsibly sited, regulatory compliant projects. Dave recently served on the board of the American Wind Wildlife Institute (AWWI; now Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute) and on the AWWI Wind Wildlife Research Advisory Council, where he helped facilitate sound research, open communication, and transparency across the scientific, conservation, and wind industry communities to resolve wind-wildlife conflict issues, balancing renewable energy goals with conserving ecological systems. He currently represents Steelhead in similar roles for land-based wind.