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Blade switch: Composites built into this 44-meter blade installed on a U.K. wind turbine can absorb microwave signals, reducing radar signatures that can disrupt air-traffic safety control systems.
QinetiQ
Appleton says that the stealth technology should be suitable for any type of wind turbine, and that "any cost increase will prove acceptable to our customers." What is less clear is what proportion of blocked wind farms could be freed up by the stealth technology. "Each site is different and needs assessing to see what the problem is and whether our technology will help," says Appleton. Crucial factors include the type of radar in use, distance from radar towers, and type and distribution of wind turbines.
The JASON report concluded that stealth technology showed "considerable" potential to deal with short-wave radar but is not suitable for reducing interference for long-wavelength L-band radars employed by U.S. air security--a critique that Appleton rejects. "We have already demonstrated an L-band absorber," he claims.
Nevertheless, the U.K. is financing development of Raytheon's alternative solution: using signal-processing algorithms to distinguish stationary targets such as wind turbines and erasing them from air-traffic control radar screens. Brian Smith, Raytheon Canada's general manager, says the key is teaching the systems to recognize wind turbines as false targets, despite their spinning blades. "As the radar spins, it sends out scans every few seconds," Smith says. "Our solution will use an algorithm in tracker software to say this can't really be a plane, because it's standing still."
Smith projects that by 2011 Raytheon will have algorithms in place for both short and long-range radar systems, and will have demonstrated not only that they can erase wind farms from radar screens but also that they can retain valid stationary targets such as hot-air or weather balloons. He estimates that it will take another year to add the algorithms to any of the 250 Raytheon radar systems operating worldwide--about 40 percent of the market.
The JASON report proposed one more approach to addressing radar interference problems: replacing aging analog radar stations with modern digital equipment that is amenable to upgrades such as Raytheon's. "Current circumstances provide an interesting opportunity for improving the aging radar infrastructure of the United States, by replacing radar that inhibits the growth of wind farms with new, more flexible and more capable systems, especially digital radar hardware and modern computing power. Such improvements could significantly increase the security of U.S. airspace."
The FAA has proposed precisely that as a means of allowing the Cape Wind offshore wind farm to be built. It says that adding digital radar at Otis Air Force Base on Cape Cod, one of three radar stations expected to be affected by the project, would help the region's air-traffic controllers see through the anticipated signal clutter. Negotiations between the FAA and Cape Wind are said to be nearing completion. But the price tag, according to the FAA, could be $1.5 million to $15 million.
Approval of Cape Wind could signal a boon in offshore wind projects.
Breezy tidal flats offer green power on the doorstep of China's bustling seaboard.
The problem with VAWT is that there is always someone developing them and some people hyping and selling them, but no one is generating usable power from them. They are essentially an idea / concept that when it comes to the engineering and implementation does not provide a sufficient return for the effort and expense.
There is a lot of power generated by VAWTs.
See
http://www.energinet.dk/Integrationer/ElOest/ElsystemetLigeNu/energinet1.swf
and
http://www.eirgrid.com/operations/systemperformancedata/windgeneration/
for two examples.
No power generation is perfect and I think it is important to remove reasons for objections to all the different forms of renewables because in the long run we will need as much variety of generation as possible.
From the article
-quote- Brian Smith, Raytheon Canada's general manager, says the key is teaching the systems to recognize wind turbines as false targets, despite their spinning blades. "As the radar spins, it sends out scans every few seconds," Smith says. "Our solution will use an algorithm in tracker software to say this can't really be a plane, because it's standing still." -unquote-
this cannot be right. It has to be more complex than this. A plane can be stationary, and still be desired to be visible on the radar screen as a plane....
This is really a waste of money. There is not a real concern about this in the aviation community. It comes strictly from wealthy snobs like Robert Kennedy jr who didn't like the idea of windmills spoiling the view from their waterfront mansions. They used this red herring as a way to stop these projects and run up legal costs.
Agreed, this is a non-issue and possibly a smokescreen created by those who lobby against wind turbines or those that don't want to modernise radar systems...
Wind farm dynamics are very predictable. The blades aren't going anywhere, they can turn and spin around at different speeds but that's an easy radar software problem.
A wind farm would actually be a good location for a modern radar system. Put it on top of one of the turbine nacelles, possibly on an elevated tower; the structural requirements are already there, so this saves cost. With more and more windfarms, radar coverage would only improve.
Maybe the need for airplane flying will disappear as the decrease of fuels necessary for flying occurs.
Implementation of new technology in wind turbines
Radar technology helps fight environmental concerns and protects wildlife habitat. It also helps to address other issues connected with wind farms. The efficiency and reliability of the wind turbines is crucial and needs attention. Pacific Crest Transformers is one such company that looks into the generation of wind energy. For more information on wind turbines, check http://www.pacificcresttrans.com/home.html
I think wind power is really interesting and I love this kind of technology but wouldn't life be better if we built a bunch of new nuclear reactors and called it a day?
Dkohn,
About the reactors.... The average nuclear reactor uses 231 million gallons of water a day. So 10 more reactors are going to need 2.3 billion gallons. Where are we going to get the water? MIT Review published an article that suggested we can maybe build 25 more reactors. After that, we are going to have to choose between food, power or showers.
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154 Comments
VAWT's
According to many experts on wind turbines VAWT's do not cause radar interference, plus they can be constructed using less material. The supporting tower in particular can use less material by using high tension support cables. If the cost of wind energy is going to be brought down then all avenues have to be fully explored. It is akin to what is happening in the solar power industry, where all sorts of technologies with differing levels of efficiency are being investigated. VAWT's may have a lower efficiency but that does not mean they aren't as good as HAWT's. SRC Vertical, a Russian company developing VAWT's have plenty of information about this.
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