Minsait, the technological subsidiary of Indra, has managed to decrease bat mortality in wind farms by 85% after more than six months of trials, as the company announced this Tuesday.
The company will present this solution at the annual meeting of WindEurope, the main European wind energy association, which will be held from April 21 to 23 in Madrid and brings together more than 500 companies and 16,000 industry experts to showcase the latest innovations in onshore and offshore wind energy.
Minsait underlines that the results of this investigation have been "very positive" for the protection of bats in the environment of wind farms, in line with European and Spanish regulations that contemplate, among other obligations, the shutdown of wind turbines with a high incidence of collisions of protected species such as birds or, in this case, bats.
BatMonitor: Thermal cameras, AI, and automation
The solution designed by Minsait, called BatMonitor, integrates thermal cameras, artificial intelligence (AI), and automation with a dual purpose: to reduce bat mortality from impact with wind turbines, with a reduction that can reach 85%, and to optimize the operation of the wind industry by avoiding preventive shutdowns thanks to the reliability in the detection of specimens.
Faced with other methods that use lights or ultrasound, Minsait's system is considered "reliable in all types of circumstances, whether under adverse weather phenomena or with poor visibility".
"This is possible thanks to its thermal camera, which can capture the temperature and emissivity of bodies -that is, the capacity to emit radiant energy- to know if they correspond to those of bats in the middle of the night, on a foggy day or under dazzling lights," the company explained, specifying that the AI intervenes in two distinct phases.
Real-time detection and automatic stop
In the first phase, real-time visualization and advanced image analysis are performed. In the second, when the algorithm identifies movement associated with the flight and contour of the animal, the automatic stop is activated by sending an alert to the "Babel" software -also developed by Minsait-, which sends the order to the wind turbine's control system (Scada).
"Babel" functions as a translator capable of understanding the different languages and protocols present in wind farms, independently of each turbine's Scada, which allows it to adapt to multiple configurations without losing effectiveness.
The system also collects data on detections, stops, and videos generated during the entire process, key information for facing environmental audits and demonstrating compliance with the protection requirements of all bat species, considered essential for maintaining biodiversity.
More availability of wind turbines and bird protection
The tests carried out with Minsait's bat detection system at different times of the year show a "very high performance". The trials confirm a "high capacity for bat detection and allow for precise evaluation" of the moment an individual approaches, so that the wind turbine can be stopped and impact with the blades avoided.
Thanks to this, preventive shutdowns are reduced and the availability of turbines to produce energy increases. This technology to mitigate bat mortality is based on a previous innovation by Minsait, capable of avoiding 80% of collisions (with a tendency towards zero) of protected birds as they pass through wind farms.
In this other system, a 3D radar detects birds in the park's airspace and tracks their trajectory on a map, without being affected by visibility conditions, 365 days a year and 24 hours a day. Once the bird's presence is confirmed, artificial vision identifies the species by applying ornithological criteria for its classification.
Subsequently, the algorithm calculates the possible approach trajectories and autonomously issues stop warnings on the wind turbines with the highest risk of collision.