Like so many issues regarding wind energy, emotions on the radar issue run high in both supporters and resistors. A great deal of misinformation can lock contenders in a stalemate, block a wind farm project and slam the door on further discussion. It is incredibly important to do a great deal of homework on the big picture around your wind project agenda. On the radar interference issue, do a Google search for Gary Seifert.

Gary Seifert, a senior program manager at the Idaho National Laboratory, has over 25 years of engineering experience in wind turbine technology. Among other things he is currently involved in studies for multiple Department of Defense government wind projects and is currently leading a technical wind radar interaction project for the US Department of Energy.

In an excellent presentation on radar interference, Gary points out that radar interference is real and it could impact military and air traffic control missions. But ….and this is a BIG BUT – he also notes that only a small percentage of wind farms do impact the ability of radar to perform its mission and, that individual site circumstances determine the situation.

Above all Gary cautions both developers and those who claim “radar interference” to determine the real impact, not the perceived impact; to identify the issue early in the process; to communicate well and often; and to “strive for Win-Win Solutions.” 

Sound familiar?

In “A New Blip on Wind Power’s Radar Screen” Cindy Skrzycki laid out the details.

Initially, the perceived problem was that tall turbines might create false signals picked up by military radar. This triggered both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to pay much closer attention to wind project plans and to require review and inspection of projects in development.

With yet another government stakeholder to satisfy along with exponential growth in the wind energy industry, turbine developers claim that the inspections are holding up projects and putting them in financial peril. There are just not enough inspectors to go around.

In essence turbine height was the issue – how tall structures would affect military air space and training routes and landings at commercial airports. But then in late March 2006, the Department of Homeland Security weighed in with much more stringent requirements.

The American Wind Energy Association noted that wind power peacefully coexists with radar. Sometimes moving or lowering towers solved any military concerns. And then, there are the military installations that have operating turbines – the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo, and the F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming for example. So what’s the deal?

Well, developers who receive a “Notice of Presumed Hazard” from the FAA cannot get financing or go forward with construction. Yet the FAA is not anti-wind project they just want developers to pay attention to the radar issue.

Whether or not the radar interference issue is politically motivated, it is an issue that requires your early attention. If the solution is to move or lower your turbines, it is a lot easier to accomplish on paper before you begin construction.

Don’t get caught with your defenses down!