Vineyard Wind Activates Aircraft Detection Lighting System, Mitigating Light Pollution from Offshore Turbines
Key Insights
Vineyard Wind has activated its aircraft detection lighting system (ADLS) on its offshore turbines, reducing constant blinking lights that drew community complaints.
The ADLS, an FAA requirement, ensures turbine lights illuminate only when aircraft are overhead, improving night sky visibility for island residents.
This activation follows months of pressure and a recent legal threat from Nantucket officials regarding persistent light pollution and other project issues.
While a significant step, some critics highlight ongoing light pollution from the project's service platform and call for stricter regulatory enforcement.
Vineyard Wind, the developer of the nation's first utility-scale offshore wind farm, announced Friday the successful activation of its aircraft detection lighting system (ADLS) on its operational turbines. This critical milestone aims to significantly reduce light pollution along the southern shores of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, addressing months of persistent community complaints regarding constant blinking red lights from the offshore structures.
For over 15 months, residents of both islands have reported continuous illumination from the turbine lights, which are designed by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements to activate only when aircraft are detected overhead. During the construction and commissioning phases, these lights remained constantly active, leading to widespread dissatisfaction and prompting the Town of Nantucket to threaten legal action just days before Vineyard Wind's announcement.
Klaus Moeller, CEO of Vineyard Wind, emphasized the complexity of integrating the ADLS. "This is a complex technology requiring extensive work and coordination between various contractors and construction teams, and I would like to thank them for their efforts in activating this system as commissioning continues," Moeller stated. The system is now integrated into the 23 turbines that have been built, with 17 already generating power. Vineyard Wind confirmed that the ADLS will be progressively integrated into additional turbines as construction advances.
Nantucket officials, who had demanded $25,000 per day per turbine for non-compliance, welcomed the activation but stressed the need for verification. In a statement, the town noted, "Subject to verification from the Town that the turbines are not just hooked up to the systems, but that the system is working properly and reliably, the Town welcomes this announcement." The town had previously characterized Vineyard Wind's explanations for the delays as "convoluted, inconsistent, and unsatisfactory."
Despite the ADLS activation, some local critics remain concerned. Fred Khedouri, a Vineyard resident, acknowledged Nantucket's efforts but pointed to ongoing light pollution from the project's large service platform, describing it as "lit up like Times Square." Khedouri also criticized federal regulators, particularly the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), for perceived failures in enforcing permit terms. He linked the lighting system delays to previous issues, including a catastrophic blade failure last summer, suggesting a pattern of insufficient attention to negative local impacts.
Vineyard Wind, which is a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is on track to complete the 800 MW project by the end of 2024, aiming to power over 400,000 homes in Massachusetts.