Start/Stop

By shutting down offshore wind turbines when bird migration is expected to reach a peak, we can limit the number of bird collisions. The Start/Stop project both uses and gathers knowledge on bird migration on the North Sea, while developing measures to make shutting down the turbines as efficient as possible. That is to say: we aim to prevent as many bird collisions with wind turbines as possible and, at the same time to lose as little energy production as possible.

Offshore wind energy: measures to counter adverse effects

In the Netherlands we most certainly have the ambition of providing our country with sustainable sources of energy. Offshore wind energy can make an important contribution to this. Over the next few years, then, a large number of new wind farms will be built on the North Sea. That must not have significantly adverse effects, either on the ecology or on the marine life around wind farms. This is why we take measures to limit any of those consequences. One of the measures is to shut down the wind turbines (or bring them close to a standstill) - known as 'bird curtailment' - when bird migration is expected. That measure was developed as part of the Start/Stop project.

The Start/Stop procedure will be of great importance in the near future, when we develop offshore wind energy within the ecological space on the North Sea.


Shutting down offshore wind turbines during peak bird migration

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Infographic Shutting down offshore wind turbines during peak bird migration

Infographic Shutting down offshore wind turbines during peak bird migration