Vestas Red Turbine Blades to Be Tested for Bird Safety at Hollandse Kust West VI Wind Farm

April 23, 2025, by Adnan Memija

A new trial will be launched at Ecowende’s Hollandse Kust West VI offshore wind farm in the Netherlands to test whether red blades improve visibility for birds and reduce collision risks. Vestas is supplying one red-coated blade for each of the seven turbines involved, replacing the standard grey design.

Ecowende Vestas Hollandse Kust West — *Source: Ecowende*

The objective of having a single blade in a different colour is to create a smear, which is expected to be more visible to birds. A lot is still unknown about this effect, including which colours and patterns work best, according to Ecowende, a joint venture of Shell, Eneco, and Chubu.

“Initially, colors like black and fluorescent were considered, but red was ultimately chosen based on performance criteria, particularly its ability to avoid overheating and ensure blade durability,” said Line Kyndi Behrens, Vestas’ Technical Project Manager Hollandse Kust West VI.

Ecowende, in collaboration with Waardenburg Ecology, DHI, and Robin Radar, is leading the field research to test this hypothesis.

The company and its research partners will evaluate whether this and other measures, including adaptive curtailment and creating a bird corridor, can effectively safeguard birdlife. These efforts are part of an overall ecological concept that goes beyond current industry standards, according to the joint venture.

Located 53 kilometres off the coast of IJmuiden, the 760 MW Hollandse Kust West VI project will comprise 54 wind turbines and is said to be the first wind farm in the world that will be in harmony with nature.

As reported in June 2023, the developer has presented some of the measures they plan to employ at the offshore wind farm, including increasing the height of the lowest tip of the rotor blades, and creating a corridor to the Natura 2000 area by placing the turbines extra far apart, as well as an option to bring the turbines to a standstill that adapts to the flight movements of birds in the wind farm.

At the beginning of this year, Ecowende and Van Oord, the company responsible for the installation of the wind farm’s foundations, inter-array cables and wind turbines, signed a contract for the design, construction, and installation of tree reefs and oyster hubs at the project site.