After the hurricane "Sabine" has swept over Germany, it has once again become clear that the technical possibilities for monitoring wind turbines are becoming better and better. "Self-learning systems can increase safety without neglecting production and profitability," says Markus W. Voigt, Managing Director of AREAM GmbH, which specializes in investments in renewable energies.

While the high wind speeds rip off roofs or uproot trees, storms and hurricanes do not pose a threat to wind turbines. Instead, the asset manager from Düsseldorf can record additional earnings from the 35 company-owned wind turbines: "In the first ten days of this month, our turbines have already achieved 42 percent of their monthly target," says Markus W. Voigt, Managing Director of AREAM GmbH. Compared to February 2019, more than half of the production has already been brought in (as of 02/10/2020).

"But as much as we enjoy wind, our top priority is of course safety first," says Voigt. Since turbines that rotate too fast can affect the stability of a wind turbine so strongly that vibrations would lead to an accident, various technical safety standards have been installed: As soon as wind speeds exceed 90 kilometers per hour for a certain period of time or gusts of more than 108 kilometers per hour, wind turbines automatically switch off and turn the rotor blades into the wind so as not to provide a surface for attack. In addition, turbines installed in Germany must be able to withstand wind speeds of more than 230 kilometres per hour. "Our safety measures ensure that no damage occurs even in extreme storms and that we can look forward to high-yielding wind days," says Voigt.