The temporary shutdown of wind turbines during agricultural operations in the vicinity is an effective protective measure that regularly helps to reduce the risk of bird collisions. Automatic systems offer advantages over conventional methods – such as reporting chains that must be secured through contractual agreements – in terms of simplifying the implementation of this protective measure. Automatic systems can raise the level of protection and reduce the administrative burden. Certain versions of these systems are already commercially available and can be deployed. However, fully autonomous systems in particular still require further development, and suitable proof of their performance will be necessary for their deployment. It would seem sensible to develop standardised testing procedures for this purpose. An important prerequisite for the use of automated systems is the standardisation across the federal states of the guidelines for implementing the protective measures under the Federal Nature Conservation Act. The decision whether or not to use automated systems should, for the time being, be taken on a case-by-case basis.
BfN-Schriften 783: Machbarkeit der Detektion von Bewirtschaftungsereignissen an Windenergieanlagen. Frank Musiol, Nico Klar, Bruntje Lüdtke und Claude Steck. BfN-Schriften 2026 (available only in German)