A wind farm featuring a new aircraft detection nightime lighting system has gone online in central Kansas.
The system is one of the first in the state and was installed to reduce night-time light pollution for residents i n Marion County. The Sunflower Wind farm, a 200 MW operation by Orsted, is located in the Flint Hills region north of Wichita.
In recent years, the growth of wind farms resulted in complaints from residents about the constantly-blinking night-time red lights on the wind turbines. The new system incorporated by Orsted will keep the lights off at night until an approaching aircraft is detected by the system. Only then, will they begin blinking to warn the approaching pilot of the towers.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill into law in April that requires the installation of the wind turbine light systems. It will make the lights still visible to pilots but also reduce the light pollution for those living next to the state’s 4,000 wind turbines.
The new law took effect in July and also requried new wind turbine developers to apply to the Federal Aviation Administration for lighting system mitigation installations. A developer has 24 months to install the system once FAA approval is made. Existing wind farm operators have until January of 2026b to apply to the FAA for the new systems.
Wind Power magazine reported the wind farm will provide electrical power for a number of Orsted clients including Amcor, PepsiCo, Stryker, Citizens, and Walmart’s Project Gigaton Cohort, which includes Amy’s Kitchen, Great Lakes Cheese, The J.M. Smucker Co., Levi Strauss & Co., and Valvoline Global Operations.
Orsted is also working with The Conservation Fund and supporting voluntary land conservation efforts for nearly 3,000 acres in the Flint Hills.
