Availability and accessibility of Environmental Impact Assessment documents of the offshore wind sector in public repositories

The offshore wind energy sector is rapidly expanding globally, with dozens of new projects being proposed. As a consequence, the volume of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) documents prepared and stored in public repositories is increasing. To ensure transparency and support meaningful stakeholder participation, these documents must be available and accessible. This paper analyzes the current state of the availability and accessibility of EIA documents of the offshore wind sector in public repositories in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and Brazil. A review framework was applied, drawing on key references on access to environmental information and the disclosure of EIA documents. Good practices were found across availability and accessibility in the countries analysed, including organization by project stage, search tools, filters, and complete EIA documentation. All four countries provide official online repositories, although their level of open access and user accessibility differs. Public repositories are not merely administrative tools for the disclosure of documents, but also an instrument for operationalizing the right of access to environmental information. The design of public repositories is not only a technical or communication task, but a core responsibility of EIA practice. Future research and policy efforts should establish minimum standards for digital repositories.