Only when needed

Wind turbines to stop flashing at night in future

The red flashing position lights (pictured) on wind turbines are soon to be history in Austria.(Bild: APA/dpa-Zentralbild/Patrick Pleul)

The continuous red flashing of wind turbines at night is soon to come to an end. This will require an amendment to the Aviation Act, which is due to be passed by the National Council in March.

The coalition partners ÖVP and the Greens have tabled a motion to this effect, as reported by several newspapers. The aim is to increase public acceptance of wind turbines, it is said.

In future, lights will automatically flash when an aircraft approaches
Austria currently has a rule that a red light must flash continuously on wind turbines at night - for the safety of low-flying aircraft or helicopters. In future, the lights will only be switched on automatically when an aircraft approaches.

Wind power operators have been campaigning for this change for some time, arguing that such "event-related lighting" is already mandatory in Germany, for example. Technically, this could be easily solved with a radar.