Cambridge Consultants presents unique solution to current
wind farm conflict

Wind farms are an increasingly important source of ‘green’ energy, but large off-shore turbine-array developments can compromise the effectiveness of military and civil radar coverage.  The turbine blades can create clutter up to 22,000ft, making it near impossible to detect and track an aircraft near a wind farm with the required degree of confidence.  This presents governments around the world with a conflict of interest between their need to quickly switch to renewable energy sources and the preservation of national security and air-traffic control integrity. 

Current solutions being considered include major modifications and upgrades to the UK’s existing radar systems and the development of ‘stealth turbines’, but these proposals are costly and will not provide a complete resolution to the problem.  In the meantime, several proposed UK wind farms have already been refused planning consent as a result of MoD and Civil Aviation objections. 

Now Cambridge Consultants is offering a new and effective technical solution to the UK Government that would allow more viable wind farm sites to be considered for development, eradicating the need for costly and politically sensitive relocations.  The proposal would see holographic fill-in radar sensors located at the site of turbines.  These would provide high-resolution coverage within and above the wind farm, thus eliminating the false-signals in air traffic control and other radar surveillance radar coverage caused by the wind turbine blades.  Based on Cambridge Consultants' own holographic radar technology, the solution has already been proven in a range of applications including automotive and through-wall surveillance equipment.

An early press release regarding the company's position on this matter can be viewed here.