One of the main environmental impacts of wind farms is that birds get killed when they collide with turbine rotors. This becomes even more serious when the wind farms are located within the distribution range of bird species already endangered or threatened with extinction. This is the case, for example, of the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagles, for which a 140% increase in deaths by collision was reported this year.
To avoid such incidents, Geowind Australia is installing monitoring towers in the Cattle Hill Wind Farm, which is under construction in Tasmania’s Central Plateau. Eagles will be tracked within 1km distance from the monitoring tower. They will be recognized and a quick analysis will determine the probability of collision, based on the trajectory and the speed of the flight of the bird. In case of imminent collision, turbines can be shut down. The Identiflight aerial detection system is based on artificial intelligence and high-precision optical technology.
Other options for preventing collision include radar-based detection, and redesigning the turbines in terms of shape and color.
