Monday, September 20, 2010

Wind Turbines Scramble Military Radar

In 2009, wind projects which would have produced 9,000 mega watts of energy were stalled by the Department of Defense. These wind farms have rows and rows of turbines, sometimes up to 400 feet tall. With all the spinning, it can cause overheard airplanes to fall off the radar which can be dangerous to nearby military bases. Also, some of the turbines are so big they can be confused with 747 engines. Although no serious incidents have been recorded, wind turbines can interfere with air training and testing. 




A private firm, JASON, which performs tests for the US government claimed wind projects near bases are an "encroachment" and should be avoided; but many areas where air bases are located are also areas which can capture wind power such as Washington/Oregon Border, Great Lakes Area, and Mojave Dessert. There are steps both military bases and wind project managers can take to avoid radar issues. 

  • Stealth turbines with anti-radar coating
  • Upgrade military software which is not affected by wind power
  • Reach an agreement between the two parties

Stealth turbines make sure no reflecting surfaces face directly to the radar software. Tapered and egg shaped towers are also being designed but any redesign for existing ones would be expensive. New materials for blades and anti-radar coatings are also being developed.

Many military radar systems are out of date, some even from the 1950's; these radar systems are less efficient then modern day smart phones. While technology fixes can ease wind turbine confusion, they do not solve all the problems. Ideally, military systems should upgrade radar programs but it can be costly. 

Travis Air Force base and a wind project developer negotiated plans to build which did not produce radar scramble. The project developer hired an individual consultant who found the size of the wind turbines would not interfere with the air force base. The base accepted the findings so the wind project was able to move forward.

Overall, the conflict of national security and need for alternative energy are extremely important to our country. While use of alternative is a way of the future we must not compromise military base radar software running smoothly. We can only hope the stealth turbines will stick to their retail plan to be sold in 2011 and more wind project developers can reach agreements with military bases. 


What's more important flawless radar systems or capturing wind energy? Please share your opinion.



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