United States Department of Transportation
i
Classification of Wind Farm Turbulence and Its Effects on General Aviation Aircraft and Airports : Technical Summary
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2018-01-01
[PDF-418.72 KB]
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Edition:Technical Summary
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Abstract:Wind turbines located on sites known as wind farms have become popular in the United States and elsewhere because they may be able to reduce, if not replace, the use of fossil fuels for energy production. The development of wind farms has been particularly rapid in recent years along the so-called "wind corridors" in such areas as Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota, thanks to their relatively flat terrain and locations downwind from the Rocky Mountains range. Since February 2013, when there were about 15 existing wind farms and more than 50 wind projects proposed in the state of Kansas, additional proposals have been generated through mid-year 2015. Each proposal typically has several dozen turbines associated with it at the project site. When the proposed sites are in proximity to airports, there is an important question to answer about the impact of turbulence generated by the turbines' rotating blades: is the impact particularly high on General Aviation (GA) aircraft due to their lightweight airframes and their operations typically being at lower altitudes? It is for these reasons that concern exists among general aviation pilots, aerial agricultural applicators, and air ambulance operators, along with airport managers and aviation associations, that the wake turbulence from the spinning blades of wind turbines may create a hazard to aviation/airport safety.
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