Offshore Wind Farms

by Pavel Davidyuk, Specialist Consultant - Aviation Safety

In early February this year the Global Wind Energy Council published figures revealing that a total of 51.3GW of new wind capacity was added in 2018, made up of 46.8GW of onshore wind and 4.49GW of offshore wind. The increased capacity of offshore wind farms was noted in China, the UK and Germany. At present the UK generates the world’s largest amount of offshore wind; equal to 8.1GW of energy.

Australia currently has no operating offshore wind farms. This is primarily due to federal policy and a lack of government support for offshore renewable energy. However, the massive 2000MW Star of the South offshore wind farm project located off the east coast of Victoria took a small step forward in March 2019. The project finally received the green light from the federal government to undertake site exploration and will commence resource exploration for the wind farm off the Gippsland coast.

With reference to aviation, a clear understanding of the unique aspects of the over-water flying environment, offshore infrastructure (i.e. oil and gas platforms) and surrounding airspace is essential. As part of the development application an aviation risk assessment should be undertaken to evaluate and minimize the risk of offshore wind farm activities on aircraft operations.

Aviation Projects is a leading consultancy assisting wind farm developers in securing development approval by providing aviation due diligence. Our assessments can provide early identification of potential aviation impacts and help resolve potentially complex airspace impacts. Contact us for more information.