What We Evaluate
In order for the FAA to approve a revised airport layout plan depicting a solar installation and/or issue a determination of no hazard, the airport sponsor is required to show that the solar installation meets the standards set forth in the interim policy.Our studies provide all documentation required to file photovoltaic (PV) array with FAA.
Our analytical study will consist of all items necessary for filing with FAA, including:
- Potential for glint or glare in the existing or planned Airport Traffic Control Tower.
- Potential for glare or “low potential for after-image” along the final approach path for any existing or future landing thresholds (including any planned interim phases of the landing thresholds) as shown on the current FAA-approved Airport Layout Plan (ALP).
FAA Interim Policy
The FAA established an Interim Policy for Solar Energy System Projects on Federally Obligated Airports on October 23, 2013. The FAA adopted this interim policy because it is in the public interest to enhance safety by clarifying and adding standards for measuring ocular impact of proposed solar energy systems at airports that could affect either pilots or air traffic controllers or both.In cooperation with the US Department of Energy, the FAA developed and validated the Sandia National Laboratories Solar Glare Hazard Analysis Tool. The FAA requires the use of the SGHAT to demonstrate compliance with the standards for measuring ocular impact.