The municipalities of Aa and Hunze and Borger-Odoorn want to find out whether the red lamps on the 45 windmills in the Veenkoloniën can be dimmed at night. The lights should only be on if there is air traffic nearby.
The Drenthe municipalities may follow the example of Central Groningen. The wind turbines in that municipality, from Windpark N33, receive a new detection system. The red lamps on the mills go out there, unless aircraft or helicopters fly in the area.
Windmills that are higher than 150 meters must have warning lamps. Local residents are often less happy with that. They complain about the persistent gut of the red lamps. There are also complaints about the lighting of the turbines in the peat colonies.
A spokesperson for AA and Hunze says that on the initiative of the two municipalities there are discussions with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the province of Drenthe and the owners of Windpark De Drentse Monden and Oostermoer (DMO) to create a approach detection system, just like in Groningen.
Whether the lighting can be dimmed just like in Groningen is still unclear, according to spokesperson Elzo Springer of the wind farm in the Veenkoloniën. The windmills of DMO are adapted to LOFAR, the radio telescope of RadioStronomie Institute Astron. A new system may not disrupt those radio signals.