DOD HAS SOLUTIONS FOR WIND

Department Of Defense Zeros In On Wind Turbine, Radar Concerns
Mark Del Franco, 2 August 2011 (North American Windpower)

"The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has often had an uneasy relationship with wind turbines…[which] can be indistinguishable from airplanes on many radar systems and cause blackout zones in which planes disappear from radar…[Turbines can also] negatively impact… border surveillance, flight training and military readiness…[and] clusters of wind turbines look similar to storm activity on weather radar, making it harder for air traffic controllers…

"Recently, the DOD had serious concerns with the massive Shepherds Flat wind project in Oregon, and…offshore wind development in Virginia…[but] Jim Lanard, executive director of the Offshore Wind Development Coalition, [said] that offshore wind and DOD activities can peacefully coexist…Rather than simply fighting wind turbines, the DOD is now actively studying how the turbines and radar can coexist."

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"So-called gap-filler technology…acts as a patch on radar systems [at Travis AFB, which is adjacent to some 4,000 turbines]…It is used in conjunction with radar from Sacramento and Stockton, which is piped into Travis's radar processor and display…

"To replicate the success found at Travis AFB…several governmental agencies, such as the Federal Aviation Administration and the Departments of Energy, Interior and Homeland Security, are also studying the issue…[and] DOD is looking to contribute $3 million toward the $6 million needed over the next two fiscal years…[T]he Department of Homeland Security is working on a separate but related program with Raytheon…"