South Africa: Hi-Tech Protection for Birds At Risk From SA's Wind Turbine Farms

What has been described as 'South Africa's first automated bird protection system' has gone live at Red Rocket's Brandvalley and Rietkloof wind farms, using tech-powered detection and turbine shutdowns to protect vulnerable species.

An automated bird protection system has been installed at Red Rocket's wind farms between the Western Cape and Northern Cape provinces in South Africa with advanced shutdown-on-demand functionality.

The system has been fully installed and is active at the 144MW Brandvalley and 144MW Rietkloof Wind Farms, which announced the commencement of commercial operations in April and are the first two projects under Round 5 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) to take on this technology.

Developed in partnership with international avian monitoring specialists Bioseco, the system uses advanced detection and shutdown-on-demand technology to prevent bird collisions with turbine blades - a persistent and controversial issue in wind energy development.

The system employs a suite of optical sensors and intelligent software to continuously monitor the airspace around selected turbines in bird-sensitive areas.

When a bird is detected approaching the danger zone, the system first deploys visual and audio deterrents. If the bird continues on a collision course, it automatically triggers a temporary shutdown of...

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