Spot the difference

Wind farms have been found to confuse existing radar systems, compromising air traffic control. This has led to a situation where around 40 wind farm projects - with a combined capital value of approximately £12bn and a potential output of nearly 6GW of renewable energy - have been delayed because of objections from the aviation sector.

Although the vision for the UK government's mitigation strategy - the Aviation Plan - states that 'there is no universal solution' to the issue, tests are now indicating that a solution based on Cambridge Consultants' Holographic Radar, can successfully distinguish between wind turbine blades and aircraft.

Tests of a prototype Holographic Radar system at Ecotricity’s 66m diameter 1.5MW turbine at Swaffham in Norfolk have provided a proof of the principle, with a small-scale system discriminating effectively between the turbine and a moving target. Further tests are planned with a scaled-up system of the same instrument and moving airborne targets, before a full-scale system is developed for testing at the site of a large wind farm.