Load shedding puts birds in danger

You probably do not need me to tell you that 2023 is on track to be the worst year for South Africans, in terms of load shedding.

In short, you have endured more days of stage 6 this year since 2007.

The past 16 years have proven there is an urgent need for more power to be added to the grid, especially of the renewable and sustainable kind.

According to a Council for Scientific and Industrial Research report for 2022, Uncle Gweezee Mantashe’s coal still runs the energy mix, providing 80% of the system load, while renewables (wind and solar) contributed about 7.3%.

As South Africa tries to dig itself out of the load shedding – with conservative estimates stating that it costs the economy about R1 billion a day – more wind farms are being constructed.

But this has brought on another problem: birds of a feather are dying together.

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Back in the day, yours truly used to take part in the annual BirdLife Bird Count, at the Vaal Dam, where we counted and identified thousands of different species of water birds, such as the blacksmith lapwing and the Egyptian goose.

So, as a pro-renewable energy South African, who is also pro-bird life, I found myself torn about how to feel about birds colliding with wind turbines.

To know that black harriers, blue cranes, martial eagles and songbirds are dying in numbers did not sit well with me.

Thankfully, the South African Wind Energy Association and conservation group BirdLife South Africa are collaborating to pilot an innovative solution.

Since the vision of birds has not evolved to see large moving structures – such as spinning wind turbine blades – there is research that painting one of the three blades a contrasting colour will increase their visibility to birds.

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The country’s first Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme project, Umoya Energy Wind Farm, located on the west coast, is once again the first to provide a solution.

The single painted blade reduces the so-called “motion-smear” experienced by most bird species.

Should their blade painting project help reduce the number of bird strikes, then this idea will most probably be implemented at other wind farms, saving the lives of precious bird life.

All that is needed now is for South African artists to realise that wind turbine blades are an additional canvas for them to paint.

That is if they are not scared of heights, of course.