What is NATS position on the development of wind farms?
NATS recognises the importance of renewable energy and treats every application on its merits. We object only where we believe the turning ‘sails’ could affect radar coverage. Wind farms operating near airports, or in prominent positions with a line-of-sight to radar installations, can affect radar in two ways, by causing shadows (an aircraft might not be picked up on radar) or by causing clutter (i.e. where the large-scale moving blades show up as blips on the radar screen). An agreement has been reached between government and industry which aims to remove aviation and radar barriers to the major expansion of wind energy. A Memorandum of Understanding, signed by government departments, agencies and industry follows the prime minister’s commitment to find a technical solution to aviation and radar objections to wind farms. In this agreement, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Transport, the Civil Aviation Authority
