To protect migratory birds, the Netherlands throttled the wind turbines in the North Sea last weekend. Because of the expected massive passage of migratory birds on Saturday, the wind turbines in the Borssele and Egmond aan Zee wind farms stopped turning for practically four hours, as the Dutch government announced on Monday. ‘This is a world first,’ said Energy Secretary Rob Jetten.
To protect migratory birds, the Netherlands throttled the wind turbines in the North Sea last weekend. Because of the expected passage of millions of migratory birds on Saturday, the wind turbines in the Borssele and Egmond aan Zee wind farms stopped turning for practically four hours, as the Dutch government announced on Monday. “This is a world first,” said Energy Secretary Rob Jetten.
When the wind turbines stop for the first time, a pilot phase begins before the measure is to take place regularly from autumn. On the nights affected, the operators of the wind farms have to throttle the rotor blades to a maximum of two rotations per minute. This very slow speed is “almost like a complete standstill for us and the birds,” said Pieter ten Bruggencate, spokesman for the Ministry of Economy and Climate.
Experts can predict the passage of the birds two days in advance, which, according to the government, gives the network operator Tennet time to “guarantee the stability of the high-voltage network”. The government also explained that future wind farms must also comply with the measure, the effectiveness of which is constantly being checked.
“Twice a year, in spring and autumn, millions of birds cross the North Sea on certain nights,” Tim van Oijen of the bird protection society Vogelbescherming Nederland is quoted as saying in the statement. In view of the increase in offshore wind farms in the North Sea, it is “extremely important that we do this as environmentally friendly as possible”.