Obstacle Lighting of Onshore Wind Turbines

  A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an extensive area. Wind farms can be either onshore or offshore.

• Advantages of Wind Power

Wind energy offers many advantages, which explains why it's one of the fastest-growing energy sources in the world. To further expand wind energy’s capabilities and community benefits, researchers are working to address technical and socio-economic challenges in support of a decarbonized electricity future.

1. Renewable and Sustainable: Wind energy is a renewable resource, wind turbines harness energy from the wind using mechanical power to spin a generator and create electricity. Not only is wind an abundant and inexhaustible resource, but it also provides electricity without burning any fuel or polluting the air. Wind energy in the United States helps avoid 336 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually—equivalent to the emissions from 73 million cars.
2. Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Wind power produces electricity without emitting greenhouse gases, helping to mitigate climate change and reduce air pollution.
3. Low Operating Costs: Once a wind farm is set up, the operational and maintenance costs are relatively low compared to conventional power plants.
4. Job Creation: The wind energy industry generates employment opportunities, from manufacturing and installation to maintenance and operation of wind turbines.
5. Diversification of Energy Sources: Wind power adds diversity to the energy mix, reducing dependence on finite fossil fuels and enhancing energy security.
6. Economic Benefits for Communities: Wind farms often bring economic benefits to local communities, including tax revenue, lease payments to landowners, and increased economic activity.

  

 Harnessing the power of the wind is a sustainable and crucial step towards a cleaner, greener future. Wind farms, with their towering turbines reaching towards the sky, contribute significantly to renewable energy production. However, ensuring the safety of both the turbines and the skies above is of paramount importance. Enter the unsung hero: the obstruction light.

• What's the aviation obstruction light?

  Aviation obstruction lighting is used to enhance the visibility of structures or fixed obstacles which may conflict with the safe navigation of aircraft. Obstruction lighting is commonly installed on towers, buildings, and even fences located in areas where aircraft may be operating at low altitudes. In certain areas, some aviation regulators mandate the installation, operation, color, and/or status notification of obstruction lighting. For maximum visibility and collision-avoidance, these lighting systems commonly employ one or more high-intensity strobe or LED devices which can be seen by pilots from many miles away from the obstruction.

Obstruction lights are vital markings for pilots, and the most commonly used regulation standard is ICAO. Annex 14 of ICAO regulations gives necessary lighting requirements for any structure.

Low-Intensity Obstruction Lights are the first stage of lighting required, warning of the presence of obstacles up to 45m height.

Medium-Intensity Obstruction Lights are more complex, designed to warn the presence of obstacles with a height between 45m and 150m.

High-Intensity Obstruction Lights are used to warn the presence of obstacles with a height above 150m or when an aeronautical study indicates such lights as mandatory for the correct warning of an elevated structure.

Obstruction lighting is used in multiple applications. These include but are not limited to: telecommunication towers, wind turbines, chimneys, cranes, buildings, bridges, high tension pylons and other buildings.

• Why do some wind farms need to install obstruction lights?

  A single wind turbine or wind turbine farms, which has the potential to endanger aviation in navigable airspace or has the potential to interfere with the operation of navigation, should be lighted.

Obstacle lights are intended to alert a pilot flying at low altitude to the presence of an obstacle allowing the pilot to safely navigate around it. The low-level airspace around a wind farm is typically uncontrolled. This means that flights are not separated from each other by air traffic control; the pilot is responsible for avoiding other traffic and obstacles based on the principle of see-and-avoid. It is therefore imperative that obstacles penetrating this airspace (which starts at the minimum flight altitude of 150m above ground level) are equipped with obstacle lights, especially in low visibility conditions and at night.

Air traffic in uncontrolled airspace normally operates under Visual Flight Rules , which requires the pilot to remain below the clouds and adhere to visibility minima. European standards, as laid down in the Standardised European Rules of the Air prescribe a minimum visibility of 1,500m in daylight1 and 5,000m at night. Note that helicopters may be permitted to operate in 800m visibility3 and that further exemptions may apply to special cases such as military, search and rescue, medical emergency and fire-fighting flights. 

Unless the wind farm is located near an airport, the wind turbines will normally not pose a threat to commercial airlines. The kind of air traffic that is usually encountered at low altitudes in the vicinity of a wind farm encompasses smaller aircraft (private operators, flight schools) and helicopters (military, police, medical emergency services). Obstacle lights are therefore designed to provide this kind of traffic with a timely alert under any circumstances in which this traffic is allowed to operate (day/night, minimum visibility). This means that the intensity of the obstacle lights is such that the acquisition distance is sufficient for the pilot to recognize the danger, take evasive action and avoid the obstacle by a safe margin.

Next time you marvel at the majestic sight of wind turbines stretching towards the horizon, remember the role played by the humble obstruction light. As we journey towards a more sustainable energy landscape, let's appreciate the careful balance between progress and safety, working hand in hand to illuminate not just our landscapes but also the skies above. 

#RenewableEnergy #WindPower #AviationSafety 

Ms Sophia Guo | Overseas Business Development

Hunan Chendong Technology Co.,Ltd

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