British Defense Concerned Over Wind Farms

British Defense Ministry concerns that offshore wind farms might interfere with radar are jeopardizing an energy program, a report says.

The Defense Ministry issued last-minute appeals to line-of-sight wind farms and officials expect the appeal to have wide-sweeping effects, The Times of London said Monday

Senior Defense Ministry officials testified in October that wind turbines generate a hole in radar coverage allowing aircraft to pass through undetected.

This obscuration occurs regardless of the height of the aircraft, of the radar and of the turbine, an official said.

The Defense Ministry added all wind farm applications are assessed on a site-by-site basis, saying that if radars can see the wind farms, we know there will be an effect as we have evidence from trials.

The British Wind Energy Association responded by saying it was working with the government to resolve the issue.

We are hopeful of seeing progress on this soon so that we can reach the ambitious 2020 targets for renewable power in the U.K., the association said in a statement.