Authorization
A crucial step in the wind energy project development process is obtaining an aviation permit for the planned wind farm. This aims to prevent the impact of the wind turbines on flight safety and the operation of civil aviation radio technical equipment, especially when it comes to constructing wind power plants on the aerodrome neighboring territories, where the procedure for coordinating such heights has its peculiarities.
With the adoption of the Law of Ukraine No.199-IX “On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Improving the Procedure for Providing Administrative Services in the Field of Construction and Creating a Unified State Electronic System in the Field of Construction” dated 17 October 2019, planning restrictions on the use of aerodrome neighbouring territories are established by the town planning conditions and limitations for the development of a land plot, which are issued by the Authorized Body for Urban Development and Architecture. Given the actuality of the issue, as well as to present the procedure in practice to wind market stakeholders, the UWEA held a thematic webinar on 18 July 2024.
Andriy Konechenkov, Chair of the UWEA Board: “Today, the discussion of the procedure for obtaining aviation clearance for wind energy facilities bordering on aerodrome territories is of paramount importance, especially from the point of view of ongoing European integration processes and a protracted large-scale war, which requires an increase in the number of such strategic territories in Ukraine.”
To explain all the features of the procedure, as well as to substantiate its nuances and identify existing challenges,Viktoriya Demidenko, Advisor, Co-Head of the Construction Practice at the law firm Asters, Oksana Opimak, Head of the Project Department at the German company Notus Energy, and Yevhen Platshchenko, a representative of the Department of Spatial Planning and Architecture of the Ministry of Reconstruction of Ukraine were invited.
In her presentation dedicated to the regulatory framework for obtaining aviation permits, Viktoriya Demidenko spoke about the regulatory simplifications in obtaining the relevant permit since January 2022 and also presented a step-by-step procedure for determining the maximum height and planning restrictions for the development of land plots on aerodrome neighbouring territories. In particular, Ms. Demidenko noted that “a permit is required, if the object is 45 meters or more in height relative to the airfield, that is, if the height of the object exceeds the highest point of the landing area above sea level of the respective aerodrome.” She also focused on the simplification of town planning conditions and limitations for a wind energy facility enacted on 28 May 2024.
Oksana Opimak, in turn, shared the practical recent experience gained by Notus Energy in obtaining the corresponding aviation clearance according to the new rules. One of the challenges the company faced was “the correctness of submission of construction object coordinates in the global geodesic system WGS-84, which does not accept point coordinates.” “We concluded that it would best if the drawing of geographical coordinates to be presented as a “polygon” (in the form of a closed contour in which the first and last points are duplicated),” Ms. Opimak shared her experience. Based on the results of the procedure, the Notus Energy representative also voiced the company team’s recommendations for improving the WGS-84 system, which relates to increasing its flexibility and expanding its functionality and tools.
Finally, Yevhen Platshchenko commented on the issue of the need for aviation permits for objects 45 meters high, for which town planning conditions and limitations are not required.
The recording of the webinar is now available on the UWEA’s YouTube channel!
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