Anemometer masts ...
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Decimation is not too strong a word either.
If crews have the presence of mind they can store the coordinates of the "surprise" mast in the aircraft nav kit with a simple button press, and pass those coordinates onto 1 AIDU
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Danieloakworth,
Uhmm! Quite simply for political reasons. With reference to all the wind farms I deal with, and Mrs hval deals with (she who does environmental stuff for wind farms) I can state with full knowledge as to what happens to the wildlife (in particular raptors and bats).
As I have written previously not a single wind farm would make money if it were not for the fact that yours and my tax subsidises them. I speak with some considerable expertise and knowledge about them, and in particular the wind farms I write about.
Might I suggest a little less rudeness and a little more research on your behalf might make you open your eyes. One big negative is the amount of carbon created & carbon sequestration regions destroyed in the creation, maintenance and demolition of wind farms.
You are correct, to an extent, about farmers etc. killing wildlife, but not totally correct.
Edited for clarification, repetition and for the shear hell of it.
Hval
If true why have the RSPB withdrawn from objecting to wind farms. The raptor argument makes me laugh.
As I have written previously not a single wind farm would make money if it were not for the fact that yours and my tax subsidises them. I speak with some considerable expertise and knowledge about them, and in particular the wind farms I write about.
Might I suggest a little less rudeness and a little more research on your behalf might make you open your eyes. One big negative is the amount of carbon created & carbon sequestration regions destroyed in the creation, maintenance and demolition of wind farms.
You are correct, to an extent, about farmers etc. killing wildlife, but not totally correct.
Edited for clarification, repetition and for the shear hell of it.
Hval
Last edited by hval; 26th Oct 2009 at 21:13.
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I think these anemometer masts are a big issue. My wingman and I had 2 very close calls today at OLF heights with separate masts which were not on the half-mil chart in LFA 20T. Way too close for comfort.
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[QUOTE][Might I suggest a little less rudeness/QUOTE]
Not sure which bit would be considered rude, you seem a sensitive soul.
Low level obstacle issues are dealt with by a SO2 at Wittering, can't recall the exact job title (Low level training?). Anemometers and wind farms have to go through an extremely rigorous planning process. However, if there are genuine issues with collision avoidance then it should be reported to him, as at present he is doing his very best to deal with the increasing number of applications. Incidentally, MOD request lighting on all wind farms in the LFS (not allowed to demand as their height does not meet the provsions of the ANO), Local Planning Authorities tend not to disagree with MOD so expect all wind farms to be lit and marked in future.
Not sure which bit would be considered rude, you seem a sensitive soul.
Low level obstacle issues are dealt with by a SO2 at Wittering, can't recall the exact job title (Low level training?). Anemometers and wind farms have to go through an extremely rigorous planning process. However, if there are genuine issues with collision avoidance then it should be reported to him, as at present he is doing his very best to deal with the increasing number of applications. Incidentally, MOD request lighting on all wind farms in the LFS (not allowed to demand as their height does not meet the provsions of the ANO), Local Planning Authorities tend not to disagree with MOD so expect all wind farms to be lit and marked in future.
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Yacht mast lights
Ken Parry,
I'm afraid you've jumped on the wrong one this time!
Does the name ' Velsheda ' ring any bells ?
Though I've sailed most things inc' square riggers since 1974, yachtmaster offshore so theoretically can command up to 200 tons worldwide ( did 280 tons on French canals ) my own boat now at 6.7m does not officially require ANY decent nav' lights, but I and my chums fit them as a matter of common sense; likewise radar reflectors / sensors.
I have a 30W solar panel - itself not actually paying for itself re. manufacturing compared to output - and backup dynamo on the auxillary engine.
As for wind generators, I would LOVE to see the maths proving that such things are any benefit at all - when one factors in the manufacture of the materials, factory building the thing, the workers driving to get there, blokes in a landrover / boat going out to service it, replacement bearings...
There was a time I never thought I'd say it, but until battery technology comes on in a big way, ' Nuke power stations are what we're stuck with.
Back to the original point, if I or my girlfriend ever was surprised enough to have an erection of over say 40' AGL, I'd feel duty bound to make it as visible as possible for any passing aircraft ( as I 'phoned the Guiness book of records ).
Seriously, most yachts have a mast at least that high, as a certain red Arrow found out.
Yachts at anchor will usually but not always show an all-round white light, often at the masthead or if following the rule book, slightly lower than and forward of the masthead.
This isn't so much to ward off aircraft, as other boats and to give a target to row back to.
As I say, REALLY large yachts usually carry aircraft warning red flashing lights, as a matter of common sense.
I'm afraid you've jumped on the wrong one this time!
Does the name ' Velsheda ' ring any bells ?
Though I've sailed most things inc' square riggers since 1974, yachtmaster offshore so theoretically can command up to 200 tons worldwide ( did 280 tons on French canals ) my own boat now at 6.7m does not officially require ANY decent nav' lights, but I and my chums fit them as a matter of common sense; likewise radar reflectors / sensors.
I have a 30W solar panel - itself not actually paying for itself re. manufacturing compared to output - and backup dynamo on the auxillary engine.
As for wind generators, I would LOVE to see the maths proving that such things are any benefit at all - when one factors in the manufacture of the materials, factory building the thing, the workers driving to get there, blokes in a landrover / boat going out to service it, replacement bearings...
There was a time I never thought I'd say it, but until battery technology comes on in a big way, ' Nuke power stations are what we're stuck with.
Back to the original point, if I or my girlfriend ever was surprised enough to have an erection of over say 40' AGL, I'd feel duty bound to make it as visible as possible for any passing aircraft ( as I 'phoned the Guiness book of records ).
Seriously, most yachts have a mast at least that high, as a certain red Arrow found out.
Yachts at anchor will usually but not always show an all-round white light, often at the masthead or if following the rule book, slightly lower than and forward of the masthead.
This isn't so much to ward off aircraft, as other boats and to give a target to row back to.
As I say, REALLY large yachts usually carry aircraft warning red flashing lights, as a matter of common sense.
There is a technology fix for the mast hazard to low flying aircraft. It's called a LIDAR unit and the L stands for laser. It waves a laser beam upwards and uses the reflections to calculate wind at various heights. There are also SODAR units where the S stands for sound which do the same thing with ultrasonics. Both are about 2m in height and would eliminate the hazard to low flying aircraft as well as not upsetting the neigbouring NIMBYs by alerting them to the wind prospecting going on in their back yards. (We make power supplies for some of these things, and some met masts as well).
Many of the environmental impact assessments are being commissioned by people who are anti-wind so be careful as some have spin on them. There are a range of views on things.
The UK approach to putting up wind farms onshore is so $%^&& up by the planning system that we basically penalise them with high costs, which in turn means they need more subsidy to level the playing field (don't make the mistake of thinking that coal, gas, oil, nuclear, hydro are unsubsidised).
Payback time in energy and carbon terms on a well sited large wind turbine is of the order of 18 months. That's a wells-to-wheels costing for those of you into minutiae. Economic payback depends on a range of factors including which subsidy regime you happen to be in, but I wouldn't be rushing to invest in the UK ones as this country is about to be forced to dash for gas once again due to lack of strategic planning. In the USA prior to a recent price spike in turbines they were about to be installed on an unsubsidised basis as the cheapest form of generation, so the world is changing.
Payback time on a small turbine on a yacht tends to be quite good as the alternative is diesel. Flying planes into yachts leads to early acquantance with Bournemouth beach, irrespective of who is at fault.
We are not far from the day when the technology transfer may start being from turbine blade designers into wing designers rather than vice versa. They are becoming very interesting from both a structural and an aerodynamic perspective.
Offshore large turbines are required only because onshore planning is a nightmare. O&M on offshore turbines is going to be a bundle of fun. Watch out for sme humungous met masts going up offshore, hopefully on charts and with collision lights.
Fly safe please folks
Many of the environmental impact assessments are being commissioned by people who are anti-wind so be careful as some have spin on them. There are a range of views on things.
The UK approach to putting up wind farms onshore is so $%^&& up by the planning system that we basically penalise them with high costs, which in turn means they need more subsidy to level the playing field (don't make the mistake of thinking that coal, gas, oil, nuclear, hydro are unsubsidised).
Payback time in energy and carbon terms on a well sited large wind turbine is of the order of 18 months. That's a wells-to-wheels costing for those of you into minutiae. Economic payback depends on a range of factors including which subsidy regime you happen to be in, but I wouldn't be rushing to invest in the UK ones as this country is about to be forced to dash for gas once again due to lack of strategic planning. In the USA prior to a recent price spike in turbines they were about to be installed on an unsubsidised basis as the cheapest form of generation, so the world is changing.
Payback time on a small turbine on a yacht tends to be quite good as the alternative is diesel. Flying planes into yachts leads to early acquantance with Bournemouth beach, irrespective of who is at fault.
We are not far from the day when the technology transfer may start being from turbine blade designers into wing designers rather than vice versa. They are becoming very interesting from both a structural and an aerodynamic perspective.
Offshore large turbines are required only because onshore planning is a nightmare. O&M on offshore turbines is going to be a bundle of fun. Watch out for sme humungous met masts going up offshore, hopefully on charts and with collision lights.
Fly safe please folks
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hval
Can you back up your statement with some back of fag packet numbers?
As I have written previously not a single wind farm would make money if it were not for the fact that yours and my tax subsidises them. I speak with some considerable expertise and knowledge about them, and in particular the wind farms I write about.
In my experience the majority of wind farms are NOT lit. They are tall, expansive and very dangerous. Anemometer masts are worse as they spring up anywhere - at least the wind farms are normally on the DVOF. Sometime soon someones going to hit one, probably at night and it won't be pretty.
The highest demand for electricity in the UK is when there is a high pressure system over us during winter giving long clear nights, low temperatures and light to nil winds - just how much use will all the wind turbines be then??? They are a politically favourable option because it looks like the Govt is actually doing something.
Many windfarms only have one light for the whole installation and some use LED lights that are not visible on goggles! Fortunately the ones at sea are reasonably well marked and show up on our radar.
Many windfarms only have one light for the whole installation and some use LED lights that are not visible on goggles! Fortunately the ones at sea are reasonably well marked and show up on our radar.
Windfarms themselves are not the problem (except perhaps the positioning) - they are well promulgated once building starts and normally have some lighting whether on or off shore. It is the anemometer masts that precede them - not promulgated, not lit, not visible and not necessarily requiring any permission before erection as they are considered short term 'for investigative purposes' . And boy are they close to invisible!
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Sorry, carry on.
