Two new studies have re-examined the risk of birds colliding with the rotor blades of wind turbines, according to an article published by EuroNews.
A study by energy company Vattenfall and the tech company Spoor analysed the extent to which wind turbines endangered birds at an offshore wind farm in Aberdeen. Over a period of 19 months, video recordings of a wind turbine were made with the help of AI-supported analyses, and 2,007 bird flight paths near the monitored turbine examined.
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The study found that there was not a single collision.
“The results from Aberdeen Bay show that modern offshore wind farms can be operated with low risk to wildlife,” Vattenfall director environment and sustainability unit BU wind Dr Eva Julius-Philipp said.
A German Offshore Wind Energy Association study also showed more that migratory birds almost completely avoid wind turbines. Over 18 months, researchers analysed over 4 million bird movements with the help of radar and AI-based cameras. The result showed that over 99.8% of migratory birds reliably avoided the wind turbines.
“The new study shows that migratory birds avoid wind turbines. This confirms that the environmentally friendly expansion of offshore wind energy works in harmony with these birds and not against them,” BWO managing director Stefan Thimm said.
The German Wildlife Foundation said it welcomed the expansion of renewable energies providing it did not come at the expense of species conservation.
“The German Wildlife Foundation expressly welcomes the expansion of renewable energies, but it must not be at the expense of species conservation. The urgency of biodiversity protection is in no way inferior to that of climate protection,” German Wildlife Foundation head of nature and species conservation Dr Andreas Kinser said.
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The foundation calls for clear minimum rules for nature conservation, with a distance of at least 6km between the nest of a lesser spotted eagle and a wind turbine.
