Enhancing bird safety: increasing turbine visibility to reduce collision risk
Increasing turbine visibility to birds is one strategy to reduce collision risks, and it is an approach that we are interested in exploring.
Short facts
- Norway and the Netherlands
- Birds (white-tailed eagles and willow ptarmigan)
- Testing of colouring as a means to reduce collision risk
- 2012–2025
Vattenfall participated in the INTACT project on Smøla, testing innovative measures to enhance turbine visibility.
Painting one rotor blade black and the tower base black showed promising results, particularly for species such as white-tailed eagles and willow ptarmigan.
Building on these findings, Vattenfall has entered a new collaborative research project in the Netherlands to further test the black blade measure (more information can be found here) and recently started a project with Oxford University to understand the potential of alternative colours and patterns on turbines blades.
More about biodiversity
Biodiversity and nature protection are a priority at Vattenfall. It is one of the focus areas in our environmental policy and therefore also a central part in our environmental work.
See also
Protecting upland wildlife: mitigation and monitoring efforts at Ray wind farm
Ray wind farm encompasses diverse upland habitats, including coniferous woodland, blanket bog, wet and dry heath, acid grassland, and waterways.
Flower-rich grassland initiative at Princess Ariane wind farm
Vattenfall’s Princess Ariane wind farm (Wieringermeer) is located in an agricultural region in the Netherlands.
Enhancing marine biodiversity: nature inclusive design at Hollandse Kust Zuid
Nature-inclusive offshore wind design adds features to support native species.