At Wyoming’s Top of the World wind farm, an approaching eagle can trigger an automatic turbine slowdown, helping to address a wildlife hazard without having to shut down the entire operation. A program called IdentiFlight uses wide-view cameras to locate flying objects, then a high-resolution camera system tracks their position and movement. Software classifies the bird and assesses whether its path creates a collision risk. Rather than halting the whole wind farm whenever an eagle appears, the system targets individual turbines that pose a threat, limiting unnecessary interruptions to electricity production while protecting the birds from injury or death. Before automation, human observers watched for eagles and requested turbine shutdowns. The new automated system has resulted in an 82% reduction in fatalities. Giving birds the right of way is a win-win.
