The National Academy of Sciences recently published the new report, “Wind Turbine Generator Impacts to Marine Vessel Radar,” co-written by Sandia wind energy researcher Ben Karlson. While wind energy development is expected to grow along the U.S. Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf and expand into the Gulf of Mexico and the waters off of the Pacific Coast over the next 10 years, concerns have been voiced by the maritime community about the impacts caused by wind turbine generators, which can interfere with marine vessel radar systems used in navigation.
Requested by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, this consensus study found two major conclusions from their investigations: that wind turbines in the marine environment affect marine vessel radars that can lead to complications with marine navigation, and that there are opportunities to ameliorate these impacts. The report recommends “two courses of action to reduce impacts by: (1) filling knowledge gaps through data collection, modeling and analysis, and focused research on wind turbine generator characteristics; and (2) pursuing practicable options to reduce interference on marine vessel radar.”
More information can be found on the National Academy of Sciences website.