Hybrid Living

The U.S. Military has recently expressed concern about Maryland offshore wind projects because radar could identify spinning turbine blades as low-flying aircraft, potentially disrupting its training missions in the area.  Turns out the UK Military is blocking wind projects for similar reasons.  If only there were a cool, high-tech solution to this?

Turbine company Vestas and technology consultants QinetiQ have developed what they're calling Stealth Turbine technology - a way to hide turbines from radar by using radar absorbing materials in their construction.  During a test project using the materials on a Vestas V90 turbine, radar measurements were taken and the turbine's radar signature was drastically reduced.  The small remaining signature would easily be eliminated by air traffic and air defense computers as insignificant.

If these invisible turbines were deployed, the UK's Department of Energy & Climate Change beileves 5 GW worth of blocked wind projects could be given the go ahead.  Just in case the technology doesn't make it out of the test phase, researchers in the UK are also working on updating the main air navigation system to differentiate between turbines and low-flying planes.

via Gizmag