Wind turbines in the North Sea off the coast of the Netherlands. As more wind farms are developed, the interaction between turbines and birds will become an increasingly important issue.
Misha Keizer | Image Credit | Getty Images
Offshore wind farms in the North Sea were recently “shut down” to protect migratory birds and provide them with safe passage, in a move that a Dutch minister described as an “international first”.
Offshore wind farms near Borssele and Egmond aan Zee were shut down to a maximum of two rotations per minute on May 13, according to Dutch authorities. The four-hour shutdown is part of a pilot program.
“This is an international first and nowhere in the world are offshore wind farms shut down to protect birds during mass bird migrations,” Dutch climate and energy policy minister Rob Jetten said in a Google-translated article. statement issued on monday.
“We want the wind farm to have as little impact on nature as possible, and we do that with this measure,” adds Jetten.
In the same release, the Dutch government said it expected wind farms to shut down “more frequently” from this autumn to provide safe passage for migratory birds flying across the North Sea.
The plan uses a variety of tools to determine when turbine output should be reduced, including a model developed by doctoral students at the University of Amsterdam and input from experts in bird migration. Both provide forecasts of when and where the birds will be up to two days in advance.
“The two-day time span gave grid operator TenneT time to guarantee the stability of the high-voltage grid,” the authority said. “This period is also used to notify all relevant parties and to initiate the shutdown of the turbines cautiously.”
The news is the latest example of how the interaction between wind turbines and wildlife will become increasingly important in the coming years.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Scotland’s plans for an onshore wind farm had been revised due to, among other issues, the project’s impact on Golden Eagle.
Brussels-based industry body WindEurope said Project impacts are preventable “By adequately planning, siting and designing wind farms.”
“The impact of wind farms on birds and bats is extremely low compared to the impacts of climate change and other human activities,” it added.