Goldwind, IdentiFlight install eagle detection tech at Cattle Hill wind farm

Goldwind Australia and US company IdentiFlight International have installed the latter’s eagle detection and collision-control technology at the site of the 144-MW Cattle Hill wind project in Tasmania.

After the installation of 16 IdentiFlight towers and a base station, the artificial intelligence and machine learning-based system is now ready for the learning period, the Australian unit of Chinese wind turbine maker Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Tech Co Ltd (HKG:2208) said Wednesday.

IdentiFlight’s tower-mounted optical units use algorithms to determine whether an object flying towards wind turbines is an eagle. If the technology calculates that there is a risk of bird collision with a specific turbine, it sends a signal to shut down the turbine.

The two companies expect that during the turbine commissioning phase, the IdentiFlight system will learn to correctly identify Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagles.

The Cattle Hill wind farm is designed to have 48 Goldwind turbines. So far, 13 units have been installed at the site. Goldwind said the turbine commissioning is to begin shortly to bring the project to completion by the end of 2019.

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