Windfarms – just another hazard?

There is currently a NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Rural Windfarms, a CASA consultancy looking at tall structures that are not near airports and a Commonwealth Inquiry into Safeguarding Airports – all of which have received submissions from AAAA arguing that windfarms are a potential threat to aviation safety.

Of critical concern are the wind monitoring towers put in place before a full development – very narrow, tall, generally on ridges or high ground, with significant guy-wires and able to be erected within hours.

AAAA was recently advised of one mast that was 80m tall with guy wires extending 50m from the base.

They are extremely difficult for any pilot to identify from the aircraft and are often not notified to aviation users because of the lack of a Government-mandated notification system and the desire of the developers to keep their positions a secret because of commercial issues.

Without appropriate, prudent and relatively simple measures, it is only a matter of time before a wind monitoring tower will cause an aircraft accident. This is an aviation safety issue across the globe, with opposition to windfarms gathering momentum amongst low level aviators in a number of countries including the US.

The remedy is already available to government through internet mapping of the positions of both turbines and wind monitoring towers and the marking of wind monitoring towers.

Some windfarm developers are contacting AAAA to advise of the erection of wind monitoring towers, however, AAAA assumes this is not all wind farm developers and not all wind monitoring towers.

Some are notifying the RAAF Tall Structures database, but this information is not making its way back to civilian pilots.

AAAA passes on any information on the position of wind monitoring towers and completed masts to its members via email, however, this is on the basis of ‘best endeavours’ and may not cover all aerial applicators operating in the relevant area.

AAAA has done a lot of work to make it easier to mark guy wires and powerlines – including on wind monitoring towers – through amendment of the national standard on marking of cables so as to enable a cheaper marker and attachment system than the orange balls.

There is now little practical reason why wind towers and especially wind monitoring towers should not to be clearly marked at least.

AAAA has recommended to the Commonwealth that it establish and fund a national database of powerlines, wind monitoring and power generation towers and other obstacles, accessible by aerial application pilots and others with a need to be below 500’, so as to address this significant threat to low-level aviation.

But safety is not the only consideration that is imposing additional consequences on the aerial application industry.

The placement of wind farms in areas of highly productive agricultural land is leading to reductions in treatment areas of aerial application companies with no compensation for this externalization of costs by wind farm developers.

For example, placement of a wind farm may affect flight lines and application height or even whether the application can be conducted at all – leading directly to either an increase in cost or a reduction in income – and sometimes both – for aerial application operators.

AAAA is concerned that not enough consideration is being given through the State planning approval processes to the impacts of windfarms on productive agricultural land and the aerial application industry, remembering that it may not only be the land footprint where the windfarm is sited, but also land surrounding that for some kilometers where heavily laden aircraft may have to manoeuver to conduct aerial application.

There is more to windfarms than meets the eye and it is not all good for aviation.

Vale Patrick Crowther Snr.
Australia lost another of its senior statesmen of aviation recently with the passing of Pat Crowther Snr. Apart from building up a successful ag business in South Australia, accumulating thousands of hours and spraying everywhere from England to the Sudan, Pat Snr was well known as a character who had a great turn of phrase, a sharp wit and an interest in passing on his considerable knowledge and experience to others – mostly in a humorous way.

He will be sorely missed.