Possible solutions include upgrading older onboard radars to modern solid-state systems that can be tuned to remove some of the noise from the rotating blades. Another idea would be to wrap the blades or towers in a material similar to radar-absorbing carbon polymer or graphene used on stealth aircraft to reduce some, but not all, of the radar signal and prevent distortion. The study also mentions the possibility of changing the shape of the tower or the propeller blades to appear smaller targets and create less scattering of radar signals.
These ideas can work, but the panel of experts notes that there is a lack of research in this area – and there is a great rush to build wind farms. The same week the report was released, the US Ocean Energy and Management Department auctioned off the rights to develop wind farms in six locations off the coast of New Jersey, raising a whopping amount. $4.37 billion in rental revenue. The office has given permission to build 800 megawatts Vineyard Wind Project south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, with 62 turbines, and 130 megawatts South Fork . Wind Project off the eastern tip of Long Island, New York, with 12 turbines. Both are expected to begin producing energy in 2023. And about 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Dominion Power is planning a 187 turbine wind farm that will power 660,000 house and worth nearly 10 billion dollarsis expected to begin operations in 2026.
But not everyone participates. Some environmental groups along the New Jersey coast believe the offshore wind industry is growing too fast. “We are not opposed to offshore wind if it is done responsibly and sensibly, but the industry is evolving at a reckless pace,” said Cindy Zipf, director of New Jersey. Action to clean the oceanan advocacy group focused on coastal issues.
Zipf says there are no plans for pilot projects that could help researchers address some of the concerns raised by the new radar interference study, as well as the problems being raised by the fishing industry Commerce. The federally administered waters of the Atlantic Ocean, where the proposed wind farms are located, are also home to important fisheries, including sea scallops, squid, and surf mussels. Commercial fishing groups fear their ships will be forced around turbines, some of which are currently stand 850 feet tall and produces 15 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 15,000 homes when fully operational.
“We don’t have any pilot projects to really evaluate what it means,” Zipf said. “There is just great enthusiasm for this new industry without any real transparency about the consequences of this massive new ocean industrialization.”
Others believe that the problem of radar jamming can be solved before new big offshore wind projects come online – and that these ideas need to be tested in the real world. “To learn more about offshore wind in the United States, we need to start building offshore wind in the United States,” said Erin Bakerprofessor of industrial engineering and operations studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, who has studied the climate and economic benefits of wind energy.
She argues that wind power is necessary if society is to reduce carbon emissions and slow down harmful effects belong to climate change. “We are in a climate emergency,” she said. “We have to get started.”
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