Press Release: ADL system from Light:Guard GmbH receives type examination certificate from DFS Aviation Services GmbH

The transponder-based Aircraft Detection Lighting System (ADLS) from Light:Guard GmbH has successfully passed the type test. With the approval and presentation of the corresponding certificate by DFS Aviation Services GmbH on November 23, the light:guard system is now certified.

The DFS Aviation Services GmbH certificate confirms, among other things, that light:guard meets the guidelines of the General Administrative Regulation for the Marking of Aviation Obstacles (AVV) and is approved for equipping wind turbines in Germany. The approval was preceded by extensive system tests carried out by DFS Aviation Services GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) over the past few months.

As part of the Quantec Group’s “Fit for ADLS” initiative, the group’s companies have already signed cooperation agreements and contracts with well-known manufacturers, service companies, operators and managers of wind turbines. Among other things, these also concern the retrofitting of existing wind farms with ADLS-capable infrastructure and equipment using the transponder-based system for detecting flying objects.

To counteract light pollution, wind turbines in Germany that are subject to labeling requirements have been required to be equipped with systems for on-demand nighttime marking since 2018. This limits the activity of aviation obstruction lights to those times when aircraft approach the wind turbine. Statistics show that the use of ADLS reduces the duration of night-time signaling to less than ten percent. The latest date for the start of ADLS operation for existing and new plants is December 31, 2022, following a recent extension of the deadline.

In addition to active and passive radar systems, the AVV also allows for ADLS solutions that use the transponder signals emitted by aircraft to activate the night-time identification. Light:guard is a transponder-based system that works on the principle of multilateral detection and has been successfully proven in practical tests for over a year.

Light:Guard GmbH is a sister company of Quantec Sensors, which is considered a pioneer in the field of ADLS and developed the first concepts for transponder-based solutions as early as 2008. In 2019, these impulses were taken up again and developed to series maturity by Light:Guard GmbH, a company founded specifically for this purpose, to create an intelligent multilateral system for transponder-based aircraft detection.

The approval and certification of the light:guard system as part of the type examination is the official approval for its installation on wind turbines. The significant reduction of nocturnal light emissions from aviation obstruction lighting for wind farms has also led to a significant increase in public acceptance of wind energy. This also opens up new prospects for the development of new locations as part of the expansion of wind energy in Germany.