Radar and wind farms should coexist, say advisers

The US government must do more to make radar systems and wind farms compatible, according to a group of independent scientific consultants.

The spinning blades of wind turbines are known to interfere with defence and weather radar systems. As wind farms have proliferated, both the US and UK governments have sought to limit their growth (see Nature 428, 111; 2004).

But in the United States at least, the government would be better off working to develop regulations and new technologies that can ameliorate the problem, according to the JASONs, a group of academic researchers that advises US defence agencies on a range of issues.

For example, it may be possible to use telemetry data from the farms to lessen the effect, or to replace existing radar systems with more modern units that can handle the noise. The government should invest in a research programme to find the best solution, the group concludes.