switching off saves lives

A particular focus for BirdLife South Africa's Birds and Renewable Energy Project is to encourage, in collaboration with industry, environmental practitioners and avifaunal specialists, the testing and implementation of measures to mitigate the impacts of wind energy facilities on birds, taking into account South Africa's unique socio-economic and environmental context.

- JOHN GIBBS AND SAM RALSTON-PATON, BIRDS AND RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT

Important bird species affected include vultures, eagles and other raptors, as well as large terrestrial birds such as bustards and korhaans.

This work has led to a series of recent publications: Blade Patterning Guidance (published in October 2024); Summary of Bird Monitoring Reports from Operational Wind Energy Facilities in South Africa (February 2025); and, the focus of this article, the recently published Handbook on Shutdown on Demand.