July 2025.
Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm has taken a further step in its efforts to protect priority bird species through the introduction of turbine blade painting—a recognised mitigation strategy to reduce bird collisions. By painting one blade per selected turbine, the initiative aims to reduce strikes, particularly among vulnerable species such as the Black Harrier.
This method addresses the ‘motion smear’ effect—an optical illusion that makes rotating blades difficult for birds to detect—by increasing blade visibility during flight.
“Blade painting as an avian collision mitigation strategy was first trialled in the field in 2020 at Norway’s Smøla Wind Farm, where painting one of three blades black led to a reported 70% reduction in overall bird fatalities compared to unpainted turbines, with an even higher reduction for raptors” explained Marli Schoeman, ESG & Biodiversity Manager at Globeleq Africa and Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm.
Ten of the wind farm’s sixty turbines—those located in areas most frequented by species such as the Black Harrier—have been selected for blade painting over a three-year rollout.
The initiative forms part of Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm’s broader biodiversity strategy, which aims to achieve net gains for critical habitats affected by operations. Since November 2020, a Biodiversity Advisory Committee comprising environmentalists, scientists, and operational staff has guided the site’s conservation planning and implementation.
In addition to on-site mitigation, AfriAvian has been commissioned to analyse a decade of bird data to map Black Harrier breeding areas and assess off-site risk zones. The findings will inform targeted offset strategies and strengthen the wind farm’s commitment to broader ecosystem stewardship.
