What sort of distance is there between each wind turbine out at sea, and are they a potential hazard (pic)

[mart]

In the photo it is difficult to see scale, if at all. This photo makes the turbines look so close to each that it could potentially be an issue for some shipping. Or, it may be in future as the turbines increase in numbers.

 

[Tinbasherdan]

The sea is a big place and wind farms aren’t typically sat in a shipping lane.

They do knacker the fishing though

 

[cheb]

There not as close together as a lot of the rocks that make up the land. Mostly boats manage to avoid those too.

 

[chrismac]

Out of curiosity how does how close together they are make it an issue for shipping, I dont think boats cant sail through the field, I am sure there is a restricted zone around them, we have a fairly big field off the Caithness coast.

 

[hotponyshoes]

The sea is a big place and wind farms aren’t typically sat in a shipping lane.

They do knacker the fishing though

We fished off one in Wales last year,
Plenty of bass hanging around really close to the turbines. Also the only place I have caught lobsters in a pot during the day.

The turbines are all individually marked on a chart, they are also all fixed in place so much less of a hazard than a shifting sandbank or a semi-submerged shipping container.
Regarding spacing, the ones we went too were set out on a sort of rectange grid, I'd be guessing at 800m x 400m?
You could zoom in on google earth and measure them out or find an chart for the area. I'll have a look at my chart next time I'm on the boat and see if there are any on that..

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

They are spaced. 1 1/3 the distance the bowfins calculate the space needed for a blade that has failed to contact the surface.
This is so if they fail it should not take out any more.
Theory is good like that.

They also say it takes 2 seasons for birds fish and the rest to get used to them.

Near Swindon there are a few. The wildlife has increased, due to the ground being left semi wild.

 

[hotponyshoes]

Out of curiosity how does how close together they are make it an issue for shipping, I dont think boats cant sail through the field, I am sure there is a restricted zone around them, we have a fairly big field off the Caithness coast.

As far as I know there are no restrictions (aside from during construction)
I believe they advise keeping 50m away but I don't think that's enforceable. We have fished within touching distance of them, seen boats working on the farms who didn't say anything to us about moving away.

 

[cheb]

There's a calculation the minimum spacing between turbines. You don't want them too close together for aerodynamic reasons, turbulence etc, and for power reasons, each one makes power from the wind and has a lower energy shadow behind it.

 

[mart]

As far as I know there are no restrictions (aside from during construction)
I believe they advise keeping 50m away but I don't think that's enforceable. We have fished within touching distance of them, seen boats working on the farms who didn't say anything to us about moving away.

Some of the  container ships are huge, and I imagine they need a specific amount of time & distance to stop.

which are the largest container ships - Google Search

I wonder if there is any element of lighting on the turbines. They are big enough to see in daytime.

 

[mart]

The sea is a big place and wind farms aren’t typically sat in a shipping lane.

They do knacker the fishing though

Are the trawlers prohibited?

 

[cheb]

Dredgers too I'd hope.

 

[cheb]

Any boat of a decent size will have at least one radar which I'd expect will highlight them.

 

[Parm]

To give an idea of size, each one of the blades is almost 100m long

ive spent a lot of time in the factory in Hull where they are made

the diameter at the mounting flange is so large you can drive a transit van through

i may even have some pics somewhere

these things are absolutely enormous

 

[minimutly]

The sea is a big place and wind farms aren’t typically sat in a shipping lane.

They do knacker the fishing though

Good for the fish then - we're in the process of decimating our fish stocks, so anything like this is a win win.

 

[OJCar]

Some of the wind turbine that were put up in the Irish Sea were put up very close to the existing shipping lanes,
causing the Masters of the vessels to have to sail closer to other navigation hazards.
There are now proposals to add yet more wind turbines that will effectively close the existing shipping lane to the port of Heysham and adversely affect the approaches to Douglas.

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Sorry should have clarified. When they’re piling to put them up it drives the fish off, wasn’t worth going out for quite a while when they put them up off walney

 

[cardiffrob]

Bit of a hazard to light aircraft? I remember scud-running back from Cherbourg at about 200 feet back in the 1980s. Back then you only had to worry about container ships in the claggy fog, but they're easy to see.

 

[scottmk1]

They are usually between 500-1000m apart and depends on the size of the field and size of the turbines.

 

[Erie Fred]

Bit of a hazard to light aircraft? I remember scud-running back from Cherbourg at about 200 feet back in the 1980s. Back then you only had to worry about container ships in the claggy fog, but they're easy to see.

View attachment 418120

Yup ^^^ should put red lights on the blade tips.

 

[mart]

To give an idea of size, each one of the blades is almost 100m long

ive spent a lot of time in the factory in Hull where they are made

the diameter at the mounting flange is so large you can drive a transit van through

i may even have some pics somewhere

these things are absolutely enormous

That is a long blade.Maybe they are longer on the ones for the sea. I've been quite close to some operating on dry land. They could be bit shorter?