Wind off the radar after air traffic control deal

A pair of air traffic radars is going to be upgraded so wind turbines won’t interfere with them. It means wind farms should no longer be rejected for certain areas […]

A pair of air traffic radars is going to be upgraded so wind turbines won’t interfere with them.

It means wind farms should no longer be rejected for certain areas near them.

That’s after a deal announced yesterday between the air traffic services company NATS and two major wind energy developers, SSE and Vattenfall.

A technical tweak means wind turbines won’t appear as clutter on radar screens and be mistaken for aircraft.

This will be carried out at two radar stations, Lowther Hill in the Southern Uplands of Scotland and Great Dun Fell in the North Pennines in Cumbria.

The new deal took three years to reach and industry hailed it as great news for future wind projects.

RenewableUK’s Chief Executive Maria McCaffery said: “This creates fresh opportunities to install new capacity in areas of the country which enjoy excellent wind resources.

“It also marks what we hope is the start of a wider process to introduce modifications at other radar stations throughout the UK to unlock even greater capacity.”

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