Obstruction Lighting Solutions for Wind Turbines

Marking and lighting are significantly crucial for wind turbines, for preventing aircraft from colliding with onshore or offshore renewable energy generators. ICAO Annex 14 volume I – Aerodrome Design and Operations 6.2.4 and FAA AC70/7460-1L chapter 13 provide detailed guidelines regarding marking and lighting for wind turbines. For wind turbines less than 150m (from the bottom of turbine mast to the top tip of the blade), a red flashing medium intensity obstruction light should be installed on top of the nacelle. For wind turbines above 150m but less than 315m, two red medium intensity obstruction lights should be applied on the nacelle, one works primarily and the other standby. For wind turbines over 315m, low intensity obstruction lights should be installed on an intermediate level. For a wind farm with over three wind turbines, not all turbines are necessarily placed with obstruction lights. Two lit turbines along the perimeter of the wind farm should not exceed 804m, and the gap between two turbines within the interior of a grid or a cluster wind farm should not exceed 1.6km.