In a first-of-its-kind initiative, wind turbines at two Dutch offshore wind farms, Borssele and Egmond aan Zee, were stopped for four hours on May 13th to allow a flock of migrating birds to pass safely. This move is part of the government and offshore wind industry’s efforts to prioritize ecology and biodiversity at offshore wind farms. It is the first time such a measure has been implemented and marks the beginning of a pilot phase to ensure that the system works effectively. The measure will officially come into effect in the autumn of 2023 and will be continuously improved upon from then on.
“This is an international first, nowhere in the world are offshore wind farms stopped to protect birds during mass bird migration,” said Minister Rob Jetten. “We want the impact of wind farms on nature to be as small as possible, and we are doing this with this measure, among other things.”
In order to give migrating birds a safe passage, wind farm owners will now limit the speed of the wind turbines to a maximum of two rotations per minute during the predicted night-time peak migration. A PhD student at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) delivered a bird migration prediction model at the end of 2022, which predicts bird migration two days in advance using weather data and various bird radars in the North Sea. This allows grid operator TenneT enough time to ensure the stability of the high-voltage grid and to inform all those involved in the shutdown of the turbines.
“With the growth in the number of wind farms in the North Sea, it is extremely important that we do this in the most ecologically responsible way possible with minimal impact on the North Sea,” said Tim van Oijen from Vogelbescherming Nederland. “The temporary shutdown of the turbines during bird migration contributes to this.”
The procedure was developed by Rijkswaterstaat on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, along with wind farm owners, grid operator TenneT, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, the Bird Protection and the North Sea Foundation. This marks a significant step forward in balancing renewable energy production with ecological conservation and biodiversity protection.
