NatForWINSENT III

This project builds on the NatForWINSENT-II initiative, which conducted a detailed study of the presence and behavior of birds and bats at the test site before and after the construction of the research wind turbines. The studies will now continue in NatForWINSENT-III with wind turbines that are currently in operation.

The aim of the studies is to gain a better understanding of the occurrence and behavior of birds and bats near wind turbines and to fill gaps in knowledge in this area. Ultimately, the studies are intended to serve as a basis for improving existing mitigation measures—such as shutdown algorithms—in a targeted manner, as well as for developing and testing new mitigation measures, particularly technical ones.

In addition to radar studies of general flight activity, the data for bird research is based in particular on telemetry and laser rangefinder studies of the individual flight behavior of red kites in the vicinity of the rotors. Bat research is based on acoustic recordings taken at various heights on the wind turbines and the four wind measurement masts, as well as the three-dimensional tracking of flight paths using a stereo thermal imaging camera system mounted on one of the wind turbines. By cross-referencing both sets of data, flight paths can also be attributed to specific bat species.

Experimental studies focus on the question of how the operating conditions of wind turbines affect the risk to birds and bats. Therefore, their behavior is being studied, particularly in relation to rotor speed.