A new agreement between a UK air traffic services company and two wind turbine developers could unlock up to 2.2GW of potential new wind energy across the UK.
The deal, signed between NATS and wind turbine developers SSE and Vattenfall, secures the funding for alterations to two Raytheon-manufactured radar sites— Lowther Hill and Great Dun Fell—to enable better mitigation of interference caused by wind turbines.
According to NATS, roughly two percent of proposed turbine installations are expected to cause interference to radar signals used by air traffic controllers to direct aircraft. Air traffic control radar interference is often the result of backscatter from the large rotor blades on wind turbines near airports, which appears as a large “clump” on radar screens that can be mistaken as a thunderstorm or other weather phenomenon. This interference, known as “wind turbine clutter,” hinders the radar system’s ability to identify the position and altitude of nearby aircraft, affecting air traffic control’s ability to direct aircraft. In these cases, NATS often must object to the installation on the grounds of aviation safety, resulting in the application being turned down by the planning authority.
Now, the new agreement means that a technical modification developed as part of a three-year program known as Project RM can be made to the radar to mitigate this interference. The modification will be made first to two radar sites as a test, with additional modifications expected at other sites in the near future.
“This is a landmark agreement that heralds a significant technical advance in mitigating radar interference from wind turbines; it unlocks significant potential for wind-based power generation and indeed for the UK in meeting its carbon reduction targets,” Richard Deakin, NATS chief executive, said.
“We’ve been committed to working across the industry to find a way of unlocking this new power while ensuring aviation safety. This is a fantastic result.”
