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Wind Power Threatens Security...

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  • Wind Power Threatens Security...

    Another downside to wind farms above and beyond the large amounts of coal and oil they consume:

    "Clutter Free Wind Farms"

    Aviation Week & Space Technology Apr 19 , 2010 , p. 14

    Edited by Patricia J. Parmalee

    Though wind farms are generally considered to be a green mine of energy conservation and renewable resources, military personnel are increasingly concerned about a dark side—the disruption or blocking of radar designed to detect threats. Both the FAA and U.S. military have sounded alarms, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command is organizing a radar obstruction evaluation team. Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, the U.K., which has extensive offshore wind energy resources in place, also is aggressively working on solutions. Toward that end, Lockheed Martin will deliver a long-range air surveillance radar system that overcomes sensor performance issues commonly caused by the rotating blades of wind turbines. The advanced electronics of the TPS-77 radar (above) mitigate interference or “clutter” that can obscure radar targets. The new system will provide air defense surveillance capabilities for the Defense Ministry and clear the way for installation of 924 turbines along England’s east coast. Surveillance would cover five planned wind farms in the Greater Wash Strategic Area—Sheringham Shoal, Race Bank, Dudgeon, Triton Knoll and Docking Shoal. Under contract with the U.K.’s Serco Defense, Science and Nuclear Group, the U.S. company will deliver the new TPS-77 system by November 2011. Serco has been Lockheed Martin’s in-country contractor logistics support partner for the Defense Ministry’s FPS-117 (Type 92) radars. TPS-77 has been tested at land-based wind farms in Cazenovia, N.Y., and Horns Rev in the North Sea.

    --END--

    William
    Pharoh was pimp but now he is dead. What are you going to do today?

  • #2
    Making a clutter map to reduce and/or eliminate ground clutter is old news for fixed site radars. It should be part of any installation process.

    Just another way to suck up your tax dollars.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by JCT View Post
      Making a clutter map to reduce and/or eliminate ground clutter is old news for fixed site radars. It should be part of any installation process.

      Just another way to suck up your tax dollars.
      I would have assumed that after all these years, every ground radar sites and every air or sea navigation chart has these permanently anchored wind turbine sites already recorded.

      If there is a wind turbine field and the slowly spinning blades make little pips on a radar sweep, they will be in the same place on every sweep and can just be ignored as everybody knows what and where they are. Even radar pattern site recognitions on aircraft and ships should be a no-brainer.

      Only if one of those pips is moving should there be concern. So an electronic analysis of each sweep should be very easy and cheap (if not already programmed in).

      "If returns have been in the same spot for the last day - go to ignore."

      "If a return is moving within ignore field - go to IFF challenge."

      "If moving return confirms challenge as Friendly - go to track/record."

      "If moving return does not answer IFF challenge - go to Panic Button."
      Able to leap tall tales in a single groan.

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      • #4
        If an enemy has a cruise missile that can thread it's way through a wind farm without hitting anything, it's probably advanced enough that staying off radar is the easiest of it's tricks.

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