Air traffic service provider NATS is investing in a new radar with enhanced capabilities in Scotland to mitigate wind turbine interference.
The radar will replace its facility at Lowther Hill in South Lanarkshire.
The new radar is expected to be installed and operational by the end of 2021.
The NATS asset is expected to allow a number of wind farms to go forwards in southern Scotland that would previously have been blocked due to air safety concerns.
The replacement is a direct investment by company’s commercial arm, NATS Services Ltd, with developers that benefit from it expected to contribute to its ongoing operation.
The new radar uses advanced clutter mitigation techniques to filter out false returns from wind turbines that could otherwise prove a possible safety risk.
Wind turbines can be picked up by radar and appear as ‘clutter’ on an air traffic controller’s screen, creating a distraction and possible risk to safety.
Traditionally NATS has worked with developers to find some form of mitigation, such as blanking out the affected area, but that is not always possible and technology solutions have long been seen as a more sustainable, long term answer, it said.
The company added that it was in discussion with a number of developers which could benefit from the new installation.
NATS commercial director Guy Adams said: “This is a solution that works for everyone, allow us to share the costs of the infrastructure investment while allowing developments to proceed without any compromise on the safety of our operation.”
“More broadly, it also gives us another form of mitigation to offer the industry, with financial and commercial arrangements to allow greater number of developers to pursue schemes that otherwise would have been impossible.”
NATS said worked with a number of developers and radar manufacturers on turbine mitigation strategies in recent years, including with recently, SSE for the Clyde windfarm installing the Cumbernauld Radar and with Glasgow Airport to share data from its new turbine tolerant radar.