{"id":330620,"date":"2024-05-30T10:21:50","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T08:21:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=330620"},"modified":"2024-05-30T10:21:52","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T08:21:52","slug":"offshore-wind-turbines-could-mess-with-ships-radar-signals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=330620","title":{"rendered":"Offshore Wind Turbines Could Mess With Ships\u2019 Radar Signals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From JoNova <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jo Nova<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
by\u00a0Lieven<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But who needs radar right?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We found out last year that offshore wind turbines scramble Air Force Radars.<\/a> RAF pilots already use the turbines in training exercises to help them hide. But ships also use radar and a new study quietly reported a couple of years ago that offshore wind will interfere with shipping radar, may cause collisions, and interfere with search and rescue. The 2022 report<\/a> was from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s OK right, we just need to upgrade all the old radar systems, keep boats out of the area, or wrap the blades of the turbines in the same material we use on stealth aircraft. (That will add to the costs of wind power). No doubt GPS and AI systems can help, but radar adds an independent and well developed layer of safety. Who wants to purely rely on the satellite connection on a stormy night?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And after we\u2019ve built all the wind towers, upgraded the boats and planes, then we can build the second and third generation of turbines and fill holes in the ground with the waste from the first. After we\u2019ve paid for that and for the collisions and lives lost, and the whales killed, and the porpoises deafened, we hope that in one hundred years the rain will be more evenly spread, and the storms more well behaved. It\u2019s like the neolithic raindances never ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You never know, maybe some groups will benefit from the radar noise \u2014  like drug runners, pirates and people smugglers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately wind turbines are usually built close to shore, where our shipping lanes often are\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Visual Capitalist<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Offshore Wind Turbines Could Mess With Ships\u2019 Radar Signals<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Eric Niiler, Wired<\/em>, March 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It turns out that massive wind turbines may interfere with marine radar systems, making it risky for both big ships passing through shipping channels near offshore wind farms and smaller vessels navigating around them. While European and Asian nations have relied on offshore wind power for more than a decade, the big wind farms proposed off the US continental shelf are larger and spaced further apart, meaning that ships are more likely to be operating nearby. These farms are proposed along the East Coast from Massachusetts to North Carolina<\/a>, as well as for a handful of locations off the California coast, according to data from the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A panel of experts convened by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concluded in a report issued last week<\/a> that wind turbines can create two different problems. First, their steel towers can reflect electromagnetic waves, interfering with ships\u2019 navigational radar systems in ways that might obscure a nearby boat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The turbine\u2019s rotating blades can also create a form of interference similar to the Doppler effect<\/a>, in which sound waves shorten as a moving object approaches the observer. In this case, the spinning blades shorten and distort the radar signals sent from passing ships and can produce what\u2019s called \u201cblade flash\u201d on a ship\u2019s radar screen. These flashes can create false images that look like boats and could confuse a human radar operator on the bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you have something that\u2019s moving toward you and you are illuminating it with a radar signal, then the signal that is returned will actually have what\u2019s called a phase shift. Essentially, it appears that you have the object coming closer,\u201d says Jennifer Bernhard, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a member of the National Academies panel that produced the report. Bernhard says that phenomena does not completely block the radar image, \u201cbut it does create clutter \u201c\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are no easy answers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the report offered some ways for mitigation, it noted that there is \u201cno simple modification\u201d that could allow marine vessel radar to operate in \u201cthe complex environments of a fully populated continental shelf wind farm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadly open-seas collisions and hampered search and rescue efforts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Disrupted radar systems are not mere hassles of dealing with cluttered displays. They can result in deadly open-seas collisions. The turbines can \u201ccast radar shadows, obfuscating smaller vessels exiting wind facilities in the vicinity of deep draft vessels in Traffic Separation Schemes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US Coast Guard wrote about this last year:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offshore Wind Energy: A Rising Challenge to Coast Guard Operations<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 offshore wind turbines have been shown to affect the capabilities of the Coast Guard\u2019s Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System (SAROPS), which is used for drift modeling and search planning. The oscillating rotor blades and generator of a wind turbine emit high levels of electromagnetic interference that can affect high frequency radar capabilities around an [offshore renewable energy installation] (OREI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The map suggests multiple wind plants could severely limit radar operation:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Report: Wind Turbine Generator Impacts to Marine Vessel<\/em> Radar<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

h\/t David Maddison<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We found out last year that offshore wind turbines scramble Air Force Radars. RAF pilots already use the turbines in training exercises to help them hide. But ships also use radar and a new study quietly reported a couple of years ago that offshore wind will interfere with shipping radar, may cause collisions, and interfere with search and rescue. The 2022 report was from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in the US.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":330628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691828879,691819212,691828877,691828878],"class_list":{"0":"post-330620","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-doppler-effect","9":"tag-offshore-wind-turbines","10":"tag-radar-signals","11":"tag-raf-pilots","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/OIG-2023-11-05T145349.999.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1o0A","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":287131,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=287131","url_meta":{"origin":330620,"position":0},"title":"Good for our enemies: Wind turbines scramble the Air Force radars, and provide cover for jets","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/11\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Blind spots caused by turbines pose a risk amid fears of Russian North Sea sabotage. From JoNova By Jo Nova Imagine you built hundreds of wind turbines off your coast and then found out they reflect the signals used by your air defense radar? 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Britain\u2019s race to net zero risks blinding crucial radars protecting the UK from incursions over the North Sea amid fears that Russia will launch\u00a0a campaign of sabotage. Offshore\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"electromagnetic pulses\"","block_context":{"text":"electromagnetic pulses","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=electromagnetic-pulses"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image-113.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image-113.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image-113.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image-113.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":290480,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=290480","url_meta":{"origin":330620,"position":2},"title":"How wind turbines destroying the RAF\u2019s Air and Sea Defence\u00a0Systems","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/12\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Britain\u2019s race to net zero risks blinding crucial radars protecting the UK from incursions over the North Sea amid fears that Russia will launch\u00a0a campaign of sabotage.","rel":"","context":"In \"ghost flee\"","block_context":{"text":"ghost flee","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=ghost-flee"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/OIG-2023-11-05T145320.203.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/OIG-2023-11-05T145320.203.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/OIG-2023-11-05T145320.203.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/OIG-2023-11-05T145320.203.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":431423,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=431423","url_meta":{"origin":330620,"position":3},"title":"Giant Metal Clutter? How Miliband’s Turbines Might Block Radar for a UK Iron Dome","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"15\/03\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Britain's push for expanded wind farms under Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is creating radar interference issues that could undermine any potential future short- range missile defense system modeled on Israel's Iron Dome, leaving the UK vulnerable to drone or missile attacks.","rel":"","context":"In \"Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton\"","block_context":{"text":"Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=air-chief-marshal-sir-richard-knighton"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0-Giant-Metal-Clutter.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0-Giant-Metal-Clutter.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0-Giant-Metal-Clutter.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0-Giant-Metal-Clutter.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":268064,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=268064","url_meta":{"origin":330620,"position":4},"title":"Radar Off-line: How Offshore Wind Turbines Have Wrecked America\u2019s Defence\u00a0Capability","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"18\/07\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Giant industrial wind turbines with the tips of their 50-80m blades clocking 350 kph play havoc with radar systems,\u00a0giving false images and distorting real ones. The result is unnecessary danger for pilots dependent upon accurate weather reports, and air-traffic guidance, both essential for safe takeoffs and landings.","rel":"","context":"In \"America\u2019s offshore wind industry\"","block_context":{"text":"America\u2019s offshore wind industry","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=americas-offshore-wind-industry"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/0C7_TL6pXgAEyd2X.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/0C7_TL6pXgAEyd2X.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/0C7_TL6pXgAEyd2X.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/0C7_TL6pXgAEyd2X.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/0C7_TL6pXgAEyd2X.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":418575,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=418575","url_meta":{"origin":330620,"position":5},"title":"The Trump Administration Protects U.S. National Security by Pausing Offshore Wind Leases","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"25\/12\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Department of the Interior announced today that it is pausing\u2014effective immediately\u2014the leases for all large-scale offshore wind projects under construction in the United States due to national security risks identified by the Department of War in recently completed classified reports.","rel":"","context":"In \"Department of War\"","block_context":{"text":"Department of War","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=department-of-war"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQM0P3b7lNmG4wEWchNs_4h7s1FQ0qy3sWTRC-6SWyUMmm6bHz21W8lbKgfUzCnSo-3mU83Xj9SwqAMb-n93waJMFSA2H_h6gvz3GGkqlIHgpDPinSDz9i78N0fkYb7wpPdwM1bGd8FQwpUSi5zOECxPQ4hg6g.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQM0P3b7lNmG4wEWchNs_4h7s1FQ0qy3sWTRC-6SWyUMmm6bHz21W8lbKgfUzCnSo-3mU83Xj9SwqAMb-n93waJMFSA2H_h6gvz3GGkqlIHgpDPinSDz9i78N0fkYb7wpPdwM1bGd8FQwpUSi5zOECxPQ4hg6g.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQM0P3b7lNmG4wEWchNs_4h7s1FQ0qy3sWTRC-6SWyUMmm6bHz21W8lbKgfUzCnSo-3mU83Xj9SwqAMb-n93waJMFSA2H_h6gvz3GGkqlIHgpDPinSDz9i78N0fkYb7wpPdwM1bGd8FQwpUSi5zOECxPQ4hg6g.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQM0P3b7lNmG4wEWchNs_4h7s1FQ0qy3sWTRC-6SWyUMmm6bHz21W8lbKgfUzCnSo-3mU83Xj9SwqAMb-n93waJMFSA2H_h6gvz3GGkqlIHgpDPinSDz9i78N0fkYb7wpPdwM1bGd8FQwpUSi5zOECxPQ4hg6g.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQM0P3b7lNmG4wEWchNs_4h7s1FQ0qy3sWTRC-6SWyUMmm6bHz21W8lbKgfUzCnSo-3mU83Xj9SwqAMb-n93waJMFSA2H_h6gvz3GGkqlIHgpDPinSDz9i78N0fkYb7wpPdwM1bGd8FQwpUSi5zOECxPQ4hg6g.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=330620"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":330631,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330620\/revisions\/330631"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/330628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=330620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=330620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=330620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}