The UK offshore wind industry is providing millions of pounds in funding for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to test technologies that can mitigate impact of projects on air defence radar.
As part of the Offshore Wind Sector Deal, the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) and the Government are working together to overcome technical challenges faced by offshore wind deployment in the UK.
One of the workstreams is focussing on mitigating the impact of wind farms on air defence radar systems.
The first demonstrations of the new concepts will take place this year, with preliminary results expected to be published in the first half of 2021.
The new agreement secures wind industry funding for the MoD to test a series of mitigation concepts and technologies, including various types of new radars which show potential to distinguish between wind turbines and aircraft in a “far more sophisticated way” than before.
This could unlock a significant pipeline of new offshore wind farm sites, enabling the industry to take a major step towards meeting the UK’s net zero emissions target, RenewableUK said.
The funding will also be used to appoint a senior Royal Air Force officer to take up a new key role liaising with industry and Government on solutions to aviation issues for the next three years.
A Wing Commander senior programme manager will act as co-chair of the joint MoD-OWIC Air Defence Mitigation Task Force and lead this work for the MoD.
The funds have been provided by OWIC members the Crown Estate, Equinor, Orsted, RWE Renewables, ScottishPower Renewables, SSE Renewables and Vattenfall Wind Power, with the wind industry funding body, the Aviation Investment Fund Company, also contributing and signing the contract on behalf of the funders with MoD.
The work builds on previous MOD feasibility studies and is part of a wider work package which aims to deliver an initial Air Defence Mitigation Strategy & Implementation Plan next year to enable the deployment of new offshore wind projects.
Follow-on studies are planned for 2021-22 to update the plan.
OWIC and the Government are working together to ensure the safety and security needs of civil and defence aviation can be met while maximising the deployment of wind energy.
Paul Cooley, director of capital projects at SSE Renewables and co-chair of the OWIC/MoD Aviation Programme Board and OWIC aviation sponsor said: “Achieving this key milestone reflects the positive engagement achieved via the joint programme board, with the offshore wind industry, MoD and Government working collaboratively to explore new technical solutions to industry-wide challenges.
“It’s a great example of how the sector and key stakeholders can work together on the shared objective of delivering the UK’s decarbonisation ambitions”.