The Netherlands smothers wind turbines for the passage of migratory birds Third incident in a few days: Hitler’s speech played in an express train in Austria

Due to the expected migration of millions of migratory birds on Saturday, the wind turbines in the wind farms Borssele and Egmond aan Zee stood still for almost four hours, the Dutch government reported on Monday. “This is a world first,” says Energy Minister Rob Jetten.

When the wind turbines come to a standstill for the first time, a pilot phase will start before the measure will take place regularly from the autumn. On the affected nights, the wind farm operators must throttle the rotor blades to a maximum of two revolutions per minute. This very low speed is “almost a complete standstill for us and the birds”, explains Pieter ten Bruggencate, spokesman for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate.

Experts can predict the migration of the birds two days in advance, which, according to the government, gives grid operator Tennet time to “guarantee the stability of the high-voltage grid”. The government also explained that future wind farms must also comply with the measure, the effectiveness of which is constantly being tested.

“Twice a year, in spring and autumn, millions of birds cross the North Sea on certain nights,” says Tim van Oijen of bird protection Vogelbescherming Nederland in the statement. Given the increase in offshore wind farms in the North Sea, it is “very important that we do this as environmentally friendly as possible”. (sda/afp)