""I think it is all made up," says Dave Belote, a retired Air Force colonel who previously led the Department of Defense's energy siting clearinghouse at the Pentagon and who currently consults with onshore wind companies about military issues. "I've got 15 years of experience that I will stack against the Secretary of Interior to say that is all made up to please a president that just irrationally hates 'windmills.'""
"Any potential military issues were already fully considered, says Belote. When it announced the new cancellations, the Department of Interior cited radar issues. But that's already well known-and the Department of Defense has known how to deal with it for more than a decade. Spinning wind turbines do interfere with radar, but wind project developers currently pay for a software patch that edits that interference out of NORAD's radar scope. With a bigger investment, the radar itself could be upgraded to eliminate the issue without relying on the patch."
The Department of the Interior suspended leases for five offshore wind farms under construction, citing national security concerns. The projects were located off New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Rhode Island and underwent yearslong vetting that involved the Department of Defense. Radar interference from spinning turbines is a known technical issue that has been managed for over a decade through a NORAD software patch and could be resolved by upgrading radar systems. Developers currently pay for the software mitigation. China operates numerous offshore wind farms along shorelines near military installations, indicating that wind development and military activity can coexist.
Read at Fast Company
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