AESTHETIC IMPACTS OF WIND FARM OBSTRUCTION LIGHTING : A STUDY ABOUT AVIATION SAFETY PROTOCOLS, LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY, AND PUBLIC ATTITUDES

Abstract: The overall purpose of the study was to examine the aesthetic impacts of wind farm obstruction lighting. The research problems investigated in this study were; aviation safety regulations for wind farm obstruction lighting in different countries, obstruction lighting technology, and the public attitudes towards wind farming. The research was designed taking into account the research problems, questions, and the researcher experience. Hence, mixed method approach was employed to collect as much, and as diverse data as possible. The sample was drawn focusing wind energy project developers, operators, and the owners. Seeking to build a detailed narrative, a web-based survey was conducted to gather the thoughts, and opinions of the sample population, in addition, to a thorough literature review conducted earlier. The key findings of this study are that the lighting system should be efficient to operate in terms of technology with least aesthetic impacts. Out-dated wind farm obstruction lighting systems are annoying, and contributes to overall aesthetic impacts that triggers nagetive attitudes towards wind farming. In addition, for wind farms near any aerodrome, infrared integrated into light emitting diodes obstruction lighting have minimal aesthetic impacts. Whereas, the radar-activated obstruction lighting is a better choice for wind farms further away from aerodromes. The study argued that understanding the affecting components of attitudes would give various stakeholders a realistic understanding about attitudes towards wind farming. This study concludes that the optimization of lighting angle, intensity, color, and luminance will help reducing the aesthetic impacts under the prevailing regulations, and mapping affective components of attitudes will help in better understanding the public support towards wind farming.