Vattenfall Trials 16-Camera AI System at Dutch Wind Farm

A monitoring system built around sixteen thermal cameras and artificial intelligence has, for the first time, captured direct observations of potential bird collisions at an offshore wind turbine, replacing long-standing reliance on theoretical modelling with real-world measurements taken at sea.

The year-long pilot took place at the Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm and was initiated by Vattenfall in collaboration with Wildlife Imaging Systems (WIS) and Wageningen University & Research (WUR). Its completion was announced in late September 2026.

What the cameras recorded

Across almost a full year of continuous monitoring, spanning both a spring and an autumn migration season, the system registered 22 possible bird collisions. Two of these were confirmed as collisions, and one was classified as highly probable. The trial's primary purpose was to test how the technology performed under genuine offshore conditions rather than to establish definitive collision statistics.

The published study makes no claim that collisions are rare, nor that results drawn from a single turbine can be extrapolated to other sites. That the system performed well enough to yield first observational data on offshore collisions was described as an important additional outcome.

How the system works

WIS engineered the monitoring setup with sixteen thermal cameras mounted on a single offshore turbine, arranged to cover every angle and running continuously, day and night. Paired with artificial intelligence, the installation detected and interpreted bird movements even in poor visibility such as fog or rain. The cameras could pick up small songbirds and bats in darkness, as well as larger birds in daylight.

That sensitivity is significant because millions of songbirds cross the North Sea each year during spring and autumn migration, largely under cover of night. Wageningen University & Research researchers analysed the collected data, evaluating the system's performance and pinpointing areas for refinement. According to the published findings, the technology proved effective despite the demanding offshore environment.

Why empirical data matters offshore

Estimating bird collisions at sea has historically depended on theoretical models. Jesper Kyed Larsen, bioscience expert at Vattenfall, explained the core problem: "At sea, it is extremely difficult to verify fatalities because there are no remains to recover." He said the study demonstrates how the empirical data needed to improve collision estimates and secure efficient mitigation measures can be obtained. In remarks reported at the trial's completion, he added that the research contributes real observations that improve understanding of actual risks.

Karen Krijgsveld, bird ecology researcher at Wageningen University & Research, framed the work within the wider energy transition. "Safeguarding biodiversity is an important part of the energy transition," she said. "On land, we already know quite a lot about when and why birds collide with turbines, and which species are most at risk. As offshore wind energy continues to expand, we need to develop that same understanding at sea."

Krijgsveld called the WIS system an important step forward in assessing how offshore turbines affect birds and bats. "We now have a system that can measure bird and bat collisions offshore, and we can start to measure collisions and relate their occurrence to the local conditions," she said.

Building on the pilot

Researchers are already applying the results and experience from the pilot in a follow-up phase of research. That next stage will gather collision data across different conditions and locations, fine-tune the monitoring technology further, and deepen understanding of when and under what circumstances bird collisions occur. Data from the completed trial is feeding directly into this subsequent study, which will test the technology under varied conditions and at additional locations while refining the system itself.

The knowledge generated is intended to ultimately underpin more effective mitigation strategies for offshore wind farms. The pilot also builds on earlier Wageningen research published in 2020, which concluded that current wind park norms underestimate the consequences of excess mortality on bird populations caused by collisions with wind turbine blades.

Biodiversity and offshore expansion

The Hollandse Kust Zuid trial forms part of a wider effort to balance the growth of offshore wind with the protection of biodiversity. As the sector expands, developers and regulators struggle to assess collision impacts because carcasses cannot be recovered at sea, leaving estimates reliant on models instead of observations.

The pilot showed that a monitoring approach capable of running continuously, through darkness and poor visibility, can generate empirical data of a kind previously unavailable offshore. Questions regarding the research can be directed to dr. Karen Krijgsveld, senior researcher in bird ecology at Wageningen University & Research.