Press release: Light:Guard implements ADLS for new wind farms in record time

Light:Guard GmbH has equipped a wind farm with Aircraft Detection Lighting System in record time. This is the Lensahner Berg wind farm in Schleswig-Holstein, a repowering project with 14 Vestas wind turbines for a total of 84.4 megawatts.

Aircraft Detection Lighting System (ADLS) is a technology that can be used to reduce the flashing of wind turbines to a minimum. This works by using the ADLS system to monitor the airspace around a wind farm. Light:Guard is one of the leading providers in this field.

It usually takes at least a year from commissioning, installation and surveying to activating the ADLS system. In this case, there was just six months between the contract being signed and the park going dark.

The hardware was installed at the beginning of February 2024. The Light:Guard transponder receiver was online at the end of February and could be measured at the beginning of March. The state aviation authority also worked quickly and granted approval for ADLS activation on March 20. The light:guard system for Aircraft Detection Lighting System has been active at the Lensahner Berg wind farm since March 22.

Light:Guard Managing Director Willi Lehmann praises the efficient cooperation between the parties involved: “Everyone has done their homework: Cimbergy as the project developer, Vestas as the turbine manufacturer and the authorities. We know from other projects that this cannot be taken for granted. When things run so smoothly, we can switch turbines to dark in no time at all.”

Light:Guard is highly satisfied with this convincing start to the new turbine sector in terms of ADLS. The Lensahner Berg project was important as a pilot project for the new installation process, particularly with regard to future installations after the deadline at the end of the year. Other new installation projects have already been completed this year, and around two dozen will be added shortly. The functioning concept for new systems offers wind farm operators in particular economic security at an early stage.

“We are delighted to have found the perfect partner for ADLS at Lensahner Berg in Light:Guard,” says Cimbergy project manager Florian Steinmetz. “Everything went quickly, the park is dark and our systems were able to go live without any delays.”

The rapid installation of ADLS was particularly important for the Lensahner Berg wind farm. Here, the system had to be in place and active by the end of March, around nine months before the statutory ADLS deadline. A special deadline applied here due to the impact on the landscape. This goal could only be achieved through smooth cooperation between all parties involved and implementation without delay.

Light:Guard was able to equip the park with ADLS on time. The systems can now go into operation – and the night-time flashing can be reduced to a minimum.