In a US trial, Aveillant technology was able to detect numerous flights over a wind farm without any radar coverage degradation.
Alongside other well known participants such as Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, Aveillant took part in the US IFT&E3 trial. Its purpose; to find out the technologies available for mitigating the effects of the turbine on civil and aviation radar.
Organisers – Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security and Department of Energy – set participants the challenge of tracking aircraft activity in and around the Indian Mesa wind farm in Texas, without knowledge of when or where these would be.
The instrument of choice for Aveillant was its HR5 radar, a single array with a 5 nautical mile (nm) range. The model was set up within the wind farm, and the UK Cambridge technology company reported that it “provided robust coverage of all the airspace, tracking aircraft above the wind farm including those flown immediately above it, without disturbance by the wind turbines.” Although they were able to successfully distinguish the difference between turbine and flight activity, the HR5 was unable to identify what was being flown.
Successfully mitigating the interference effects that wind turbines can cause to radar has been an aim of those involved in developing wind projects globally. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is planning to hold its own wind farm radar mitigation technology trial on an offshore, however Aveillant will not be taking part. The reason being that the entry requirements demand a solution with a longer range. They are working on a model with a 20nm range, aptly named the HR20, but unfortunately it is not yet commercially available.
Pager Power have been working to help developers resolve issues with wind turbine radar interference for over a decade. We can provide you with our recommendations of the available mitigation solutions best suited for your sight and can consult with stakeholders on your behalf. To speak to us about a site please call +44 (0) 1787 319001 or email info@pagerpower.com
