Are there any mitigations required to limit the impact on air traffic?

There are already a number of windfarm developments in the UK and Isle of Man waters which require airport mitigations, including potential upgrades to the radar systems on the Isle of Man.

All proposed sites are likely to have an impact to a varying degree. Airport safeguarding is a key consideration for the environmental and technical feasibility work being carried out by our consultants and senior airport staff have been included in the workshops to date. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which would accompany any application for such a development, will then look to mitigate any impact identified in these initial assessments, and the strategy will be agreed with the Department of Infrastructure/Airport Senior Officers in advance to ensure there are no adverse consequences.

At this stage, any onshore wind turbine must also have lighting fixtures in place (similar to those on telecommunications masts already in place on the Island) to warn approaching aircraft of their presence. This is in compliance with article 136 of the Air Navigation (Isle of Man) Order, 2015 (SI 2015 No. 870 as amended).

However, trials for Aircraft Detection Lighting Systems which can automatically turn wind turbine lights on and off, depending on approaching aircraft, are already in progress at UK airports. These trials are due to be completed in 2024 and, if successful, we will look to incorporate such a system into the wind turbine design to minimise any visual impact as much as possible. However, it is not intended that the turbines, once constructed, would be floodlit at night, as this is not an aviation safety requirement.

Representations showing how the windfarm might look at night are available in our 360 Virtual Reality Experience.