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Glare <br />37 <br />Question. How important is reflectivity and potential visual impacts from solar projects, especially near <br />airports? <br />Bottom Line. Solar panels are designed to reflect only about 2 percent of incoming light, so issues with <br />glare from PV panels are rare Pre - construction modeling can ensure that the placement of solar panels <br />prevents glare <br />More Information- Solar panels are designed to absorb solar energy and convert it into electricity. Most <br />are designed with anti - reflective glass front surfaces to capture and retain as much of the solar <br />spectrum as possible Solar module glass has less reflectivity than water or window glass Typical panels <br />are designed to reflect only about 2 percent of incoming sunlight Reflected light from solar panels will <br />have a significantly lower intensity than glare from direct sunlight <br />An analysis of a proposed 25- degree fixed -tilt flat -plate polycrystalline PV system located outside of Las <br />Vegas, Nevada showed that the potential for hazardous glare from flat -plate PV systems is similar to <br />that of smooth water and is not expected to be a hazard to air navigation <br />Many projects throughout the U S and the world have been installed near airports with no impact on <br />flight operations United Kingdom and U S aircraft accident databases contain no cases of accidents in <br />which glare caused by a solar energy facility was cited as a factor <br />When siting solar PV arrays pre - construction modeling can ensure the panels are placed in a way that <br />minimizes any potential glare to surrounding areas <br />Resources- <br />Technical Guidance for Evaluating Selected Solar Technologies on Airports, Federal Aviation <br />Administration, November 2010 (currently under review) <br />http: / /www.faa gov /airports /environmental /policy guidance /media /airport solar guide.pdf <br />A Study of the Hazardous Glare Potential to Aviators from Utility -Scale Flat -Plate Photovoltaic Systems, <br />Black & Veatch Corporation, August 2011 http / /www.isrn.com /journals /re/2011/651857/ <br />Solar Photovoltaic Energy Facilities, Assessment of Potential Impact on Aviation, Spaven Consulting, <br />January 2011• http•/ /plan scambs gov uk/ swiftlg /MediaTemp/1121414- 374831.pdf <br />22 <br />