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Committee advances bill requiring radar-based light mitigation systems for larger commercial wind farms
Summary
House Bill 146 would allow commercial wind farms meeting size and height thresholds to use FAA-approved radar-based light mitigation systems that turn aviation obstruction lights on only when aircraft are present. Sponsor said the systems reduce nighttime blinking; committee sent the bill to the floor with a due-pass recommendation.
Representative Jeff Ehlers told the committee House Bill 146 would permit installation of FAA-approved radar-based light mitigation systems on qualifying commercial wind farms so obstruction lights remain dark until an aircraft approaches. "They have some fail-safes," Ehlers said. "The default is red. They have some fail proofs... I think they even have a secondary backup system as well."
Ehlers said the technology is already used by about 10 other states and by the Navy for safety and that the bill requires FAA approval for any mitigation system. He explained the bill targets commercial projects with at least five or more turbines that are 50 feet or taller, and not small single turbines on private properties.
On cost, Ehlers told the committee the mitigation system typically uses a base station and can cover an entire wind farm; he estimated the equipment for a large project could be "under a million dollars," and placed that in context against wind-farm costs he cited: "The average windmill is between 2 to 3 million" and a 50-turbine farm could total about $100 million, making the mitigation system a small percentage of project cost.
Representative Mickelson asked about per-turbine cost; Ehlers explained it is not charged per turbine but by station coverage, with larger farms needing more than one station. Representative Clow asked whether the default setting on system failure would be lights on; Ehlers confirmed the default is to show red lights if the radar fails.
Representative Shepherd moved to send House Bill 146 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation; the motion passed by voice vote and no roll-call tally was recorded in the provided transcript.
