Assessment of the Effects of Wind Turbines on Air Traffic Control Radars

This technical report describes the results of a study exploring the effects of power-producing wind turbines on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control (ATC) radars. The study was performed to identify the extent to which these effects exist, and to identify mitigation techniques and parameters for such effects. The topics addressed in this report are: review of the current state of the literature on wind turbine effects on ATC radar performance; determination of criteria for recommended no-interference radii between ATC radars and wind turbines; determination of methodology for assessing effects of wind turbines on radars that are within no-interference radii; analysis of the potential for desired targets to be lost in azimuths other than those of wind turbine farms; and consideration of the effects of wind turbines on secondary radar (i.e., ATC beacon interrogator, or ATCBI) performance. The study results indicate that documented cases of deleterious effects from wind turbines do exist and are numerous. Due to the large number of parameters that enter the analysis, a simple, universally applicable set of guidelines for siting of wind turbines near radars is not feasible. However, this study shows that, by making nominal assumptions about turbine characteristics and siting parameters such as local topography, it is possible to develop a universally applicable methodology for assessing potential interference between wind farms and ATC radars.