CAA Glint & Glare Compliance — What Every Solar Developer Needs to Know

Solar PV panels reflect light. In most contexts that is irrelevant. Within a defined proximity of an airport, an airstrip, an air traffic control tower or a helicopter landing pad, it becomes a regulatory issue that can stop a project in its tracks. The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) requires a formal glint and glare impact assessment for any solar installation within these radii — and the outcome of that assessment determines whether the project can proceed, must be redesigned, or must be relocated. This guide sets out when an assessment is required, what a compliant assessment contains, and how to avoid the costly late-stage surprises that catch developers out.

When a Glint & Glare Assessment Is Required

SACAA's standard trigger is a solar installation located within approximately 6 km of a licensed airport, 3 km of an unlicensed airstrip or helicopter landing site, or within any published approach or departure funnel. If the project has line of sight to a runway, tower, or approach corridor within those distances, an assessment is almost certainly required. Ground-mount projects are more commonly affected than rooftop, but large commercial rooftop arrays on warehouse or shopping-centre sites near regional airports are increasingly triggering assessments as well.

What a Compliant Assessment Contains

A CAA-accepted glint and glare study is a formal technical report modelling the reflection characteristics of the proposed PV array against the geometry of every potentially affected receptor — runway approach and departure paths, control towers, holding patterns, and helicopter landing surfaces. The assessment must include panel positioning and tilt, expected reflectance behaviour across time of day and time of year, ocular impact classification (low, medium, high potential for after-image or temporary flash blindness), and mitigation recommendations where impacts are identified.

How Impacts Are Classified

• Green (Low potential for after-image): generally acceptable without mitigation.
• Yellow (Potential for after-image): may require repositioning, tilt adjustment or shading; SACAA review required.
• Red (Potential for temporary flash blindness): typically not accepted; requires redesign or relocation.

Mitigation Options

When a preliminary assessment identifies an issue, mitigation is usually possible. Common measures include adjusting panel tilt or orientation, using anti-reflective coated modules, moving the array footprint away from the sensitive receptor, adding vegetation or physical screening, or in extreme cases removing rows within the affected sightline.

Why Timing Matters

The single most costly mistake in glint and glare compliance is leaving the assessment to the end of the design phase. If a red result forces a repositioning of the array, engineering, structural, electrical and financial modelling all have to be redone — and construction schedules slip by months. A preliminary glint and glare screen at the feasibility stage is inexpensive and takes days, not weeks. It is one of the highest-ROI risk mitigations available in the pre-construction pipeline.

SOLINK's Track Record

SOLINK has completed over 100 CAA-compliant glint and glare assessments across South Africa, using a methodology accepted by SACAA and applied consistently across airports, private airstrips and heliport receptors. We work at both preliminary screening stage and full formal submission stage. If your project is anywhere near an aviation receptor, get in touch before you finalise the design — not after.