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Why do wind turbines now only flash sporadically in the Speyer area?
Find out how the lighting of wind turbines in the Rhine-Palatinate district has changed since 2025 and what new regulations apply.
Why do wind turbines now only flash sporadically in the Speyer area?
In recent months, the nighttime lighting of wind turbines in Germany has changed significantly. The wind turbines that previously flashed constantly for air traffic now only flash when necessary. This is a direct result of new legal provisions that have been in force since the beginning of 2025. This development particularly affects the region around Speyer, where residents are used to the impressive wind turbines with heights of over 100 meters. But many readers are surprised why not all wind turbines flash in the same way. These differences can be explained by the new technology of demand-based night marking (BNK), which has been implemented in recent months. According to rheinpfalz.de, this lighting is necessary to make the towers visible as an obstacle to pilots of airplanes or helicopters.
Until now, the law required wind turbines to flash continuously at night, which bothered many people. In the future, the light from the wind turbines will remain switched off most of the time. The new flashing lights are only activated when a flying object approaches within a radius of six kilometers and an altitude of less than 600 meters. This measure is intended not only to relieve pressure on the night landscape, but also to increase acceptance of the use of wind turbines, reports enbw.com.
New regulations from 2025
The requirement for needs-based night marking (BNK) has applied to all large wind turbines since January 1, 2025, regardless of whether they are newly built or already existing. Although the original deadline for implementation was July 1, 2020, it was extended several times due to technical challenges. Currently, operators must immediately submit an application for approval of a BNK if this has not already been done. However, this poses challenges, especially in the approval process, as windindustrie-in-deutschland.de explains.
For operators, this means that good planning and coordination with the responsible authorities is of the utmost importance. Different processes depending on the federal state as well as possible exceptions to the BNK requirement can cause confusion. In particular, it should be noted that changes to existing systems require the approval of the aviation authority; if rejected, implementation of the new BNK radar is not possible.
Visibility for security
The importance of these measures cannot be overemphasized: beacons guarantee the safety of aviation and help minimize the risk of collisions with wind turbines at night. The large wind turbines may appear to dominate the landscape visually, but their influence on the nighttime environment is specifically controlled through intelligent technology and new guidelines.
Overall, it can be seen that the developments surrounding the night-time marking of wind turbines not only represent technical progress, but also a significant step towards a more environmentally friendly and accepted use of renewable energies. The challenges associated with the new legislation offer operators the opportunity to deal more intensively with the necessary permits and procedures and thus contribute to safety in the skies and acceptance among the population.