A method for operating a wind turbine that includes a generator device for outputting electric energy to a network, the generator device having a stator, and a controller device for controlling the generator device. To ensure sufficient protection of the wind turbine even during network fluctuations, a network voltage is determined using a network model at least as a function of a stator voltage measured with a first measuring apparatus and a network power measured with a second measuring apparatus, and the determined network voltage and a predeterminable maximum phase angle present between the stator voltage and network voltage are used to determine the maximum effective power of the wind turbine that can be output, and the output effective power is regulated as a function of the determined maximum effective power that can be output and a target effective power predetermined by the control device.