- South African IPP, Red Rocket, has implemented a revolutionary system that ensures the protection of bird species on its wind farms, marking a first-of-its-kind innovation in South Africa.
The monumental partnership with international avian monitoring leader, Bioseco, has resulted in the deployment of an automated detection system that ensures the mitigation of bird collisions with turbines, using advanced shutdown-on-demand functionality.
The system has been fully installed and is active at the 144MW Brandvalley and Rietkloof Wind Farms, which announced the commencement of commercial operations in April – the first two projects under Round 5 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) to achieve this milestone.
Targeting turbines located in bird-sensitive areas, the system uses detection technology to track bird movements near the turbines. Upon detecting birds in close proximity, it activates visual and audio deterrents, and if necessary, initiates a temporary turbine shutdown. This represents a huge leap forward over the current traditional, manually operated methods.
Additionally, the monitoring system is designed to provide valuable insights on bird behaviour, working around the clock to feed information into Red Rocket’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system for continued reporting.
Bioseco Commercial Manager, Magda Bielawska, said: “At Bioseco, sustainability is our DNA. Our mission is not only to protect birds, but to enhance wind-energy production through intelligent environmental integration. This partnership with Red Rocket is a significant step forward, and we are proud to work on this project that has such a positive impact.”
Together with Brandvalley and Rietkloof, the Bioseco system is being installed at other Red Rocket wind farms currently under construction, demonstrating the investment in innovation that safeguards biodiversity while enabling a clean energy future.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
