Wind turbine in the port of Hamburg (© Marvin for Adobe Stock)
To support species protection in the course of renewing wind turbines in the Port of Hamburg, the state-of-the-art AVES Wind Monitoring system is being utilized. This AI-powered system, developed by ProTecBird, will automatically collect valuable data on migratory birds during the spring and autumn months.
As part of the planning for the realization of wind turbines at new individual sites in the Port of Hamburg, the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) and Hamburg Energiewerke (HEnW) are intensifying their efforts to further expand renewable energy. The joint venture "Erneuerbare Hafenenergie Hamburg GmbH," founded in 2024, aims to significantly drive the decarbonization of the port through photovoltaic and wind power plants. Companies such as TESA and Hamburg Wasser, which aim to build their own wind turbines in the port as large consumers, are also strongly supporting this initiative. As part of these projects, "repowering" is also being considered – the replacement of older wind turbines (WTs) with more powerful and efficient ones.
The existing wind turbines in the Port of Hamburg are to be replaced by more modern, powerful, and thus taller installations to increase energy production. However, this technological advancement presents challenges for species protection. The Department of Environment, Climate, Energy, and Agriculture (BUKEA) sees an increased collision risk for migratory birds passing through the port area.
To assess potential risks for bird migration associated with taller WTs in the Port of Hamburg, ProTecBird has been commissioned to install seven AVES Wind Monitoring systems. AVES Monitoring collects and analyzes avifaunistic data and is designed to automatically record data on the number, flight altitude, direction, and activity of migrating birds during the spring and autumn months. The data collected is essential for risk assessment and optimizing species protection in relation to wind energy expansion planning in the Port of Hamburg.
“With AVES Wind Monitoring, we are creating an important foundation to combine the protection of migratory birds in the Port of Hamburg with the expansion of wind energy,” says Esther Clausen, species protection officer at ProTecBird. “ProTecBird’s technology enables detailed and automated tracking of bird migration activities and helps identify potential risks early on. This way, we can not only provide valuable data for the planning and implementation of repowering but also ensure that species protection in the port remains a top priority.”
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