Quarter 4 Article 2
WIND POWER COMPLICATIONS WITH RADAR
Andy Soos. ENN. April 16, 2010.
Miller Chapter: 1, 17.
Area Covered: Regional (Eastern Oregon)
Construction of an 845 megawatt wind farm (the largest wind farm to be in the United States) is being halted by the U.S. Airforce. The reason for this is the wind turbines generate energy producing a false image on the Airforce's doppler image. This has delayed the project greatly and constructors are concerned that if the project does not start soon, they will lose government stimulus dollars and it will never get done. In a 2003 study, the British Department of Trade and Industry stated that there are hardware or software mitagation that can be implemented to solve this problem. For now the Obama administration is working with the Pentagon to get the project underway.
This article shows you have to be very selective on where you put a wind farm. Not only do you need substantial wind annually, easy access to the power grid, and somewhere where bird populations won't be hurt, but now you have to look out for Air Force bases.
The Doppler effect- is the change in frequency of a wave for an observer moving relative to the source of the wave.
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