Pilot project in Fuchstal: Cameras should protect red kites from wind turbines - other regions could benefit

Created: 01/19/2022 07:26

By: Katrin Woitsch

There are already four wind turbines in Fuchstal.

Bird monitoring is to be carried out for the three planned.

The project has a model character throughout Germany.

© private

A wind power pilot project is starting in Fuchstal, from which many regions could benefit: three new systems are being networked with cameras.

As soon as a protected red kite approaches, the rotor blades are stopped.

Munich – It's actually good news: the red kite loves the Leeder municipal forest.

This is not just a subjective impression of Mayor Erwin Karg.

In 2013, he commissioned a bird protection report for four planned wind turbines.

Five years later, he needed another expert opinion – for the three new plants that his municipality is now planning.

The result: the number of red kites in Fuchstal had increased sixfold during this period.

This indicates that the wind turbines did not drive away or harm the protected native raptor.

"Maybe he even likes the breeze," says Karg.

However, more Red Kites means more Red Kites to protect from a potential wind turbine.

That doesn't make construction any easier.

Wind turbines in Fuchstal: Innovation to protect the red kite

That's why the community is now taking an innovative approach.

Two 42 meter high masts are to be built in the Fuchstal in a few weeks.

Both will be equipped with a total of eight cameras to document the flight of birds.

The towers are networked with the wind turbines.

If a red kite flies towards the rotor blades, the wind turbine is automatically stopped.

You need a thick skin if you want to build wind turbines.

Mayor Erwin Karg

The whole thing would be a much more efficient protection of species than the condition that Karg received with the building permit.

This stipulates that the three planned systems will be completely switched off during daylight hours from March 15th to August 15th so as not to endanger any red kites.

Karg estimates that this would result in a loss of more than half of the plants' yield in these six months.

This requirement does not apply to the four wind turbines that are already a few hundred meters away - because there were not that many red kites in Fuchstal when the species protection report was issued in 2013.

Pilot project: bird monitoring at wind turbines

The bird monitoring could have an impact far beyond the Leeder community forest.

It is a pilot project that is unique to date.

So far, there has only been monitoring in open spaces.

The forest is not a hunting ground for the red kite in particular, explains Karg.

It flies at different speeds there, not looking at the prey but looking ahead.

If the monitoring proves that the wind turbines have no influence on the flight behavior of the birds of prey, this would also make it easier to build new wind turbines at many other locations in Bavaria.

"If the 10H distance rule remains, that means a good two kilometers away from residential buildings," explains Karg.

In many regions, only forest areas are then possible.

Therefore, bird monitoring in the forest could be exciting for many regions.

He feels at home in Fuchstal: the red kite.

© Soeren Stache

Ministry of Economy supports bird monitoring

The Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs also sees it that way.

It finances the construction of the two camera towers* with 1.3 million euros.

The Ministry of the Environment is responsible for the scientific monitoring of the project at a cost of 1.1 million euros.

The aim of the research project is to show which criteria camera-based collision avoidance systems must meet in order for them to be recognized as a measure in the approval process.

The locations would be more economical due to the situation-dependent shutdown of the systems - and it could be easier to reconcile the construction of new indictments with species protection, explains a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Currently, 17 wind turbines with a total output of around 55 MW have been applied for in Bavaria, but have not yet been approved.

44 other plants have already been approved but are not yet in operation.

New wind turbines in Fuchstal: They should go into operation in 2023

Of course there are wind turbine opponents in Fuchstal, too, says Karg.

But they are in the minority.

He believes that around 80 percent of the citizens are behind the plans for the community forest.

The new wind turbines, which are scheduled to go into operation in 2023, will be just like the first four public facilities.

"I already have 600 requests for participation," says the mayor.

He is convinced that wind energy is an important strategy against climate change.

"I have four children," says Karg.

He is also committed to this topic for their future.

"You need a thick skin if you want to build wind turbines," he says.

But he feels the tailwind more clearly than the headwind.