AP's Specialist Consultant in Airspace Safeguarding and Aviation Safety, Peter White recently conducted a site visit to a potential wind farm project located between Ballarat and Ararat in Western Victoria, an area where several wind farms are already operational.
The terrain in which the proposed wind farm would be situated is similar to that of the nearby established renewable energy sites, an area predominately used for wheat farming, cattle and sheep stock.
The area is likely suitable for aerial application operations, i.e. crop dusting, and possible take-off and landing of aerial application aircraft. It is generally more likely that these aircraft would depart from their home bases in the vicinity of the area, especially when utilising larger aircraft. No readily identifiable landing areas were observed or evident in the immediate area.
Aerial fire-fighting activities are known to be conducted in the area, and when necessary, between wind turbines to counter grass fires. In these instances, wind turbines are turned off, either by automatic smoke detectors or by the operator of the wind farm from the wind farm operations centre. The turbines then become highly visible obstacles that can easily be identified and avoided by the aircraft.
This site visit will form part of a comprehensive aeronautical impact assessment and ensures any aviation constraints or safety considerations have been personally identified and provided for consideration by project developers.
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Archerfield Airport Corporation commends the professional management of Aviation Projects which has driven this project and ensured we continue to make steady, but substantial progress towards achieving our strategic goals. Thanks to this shared commitment, we look forward to an exciting new chapter of growth at Archerfield Airport.
