NATS secures turbine mitigation contract for Tormywheel Wind Farm
The contract will see NATS deliver into service a brand new radar system at Edinburgh Airport that will totally mitigate the impact of Tormywheel’s 15 turbines.
This will now allow Muirhall to complete the development ahead of the government’s funding deadline and to successfully release 34MW of renewable energy.
Wind turbines can cause radar interference whereby the blades appear as ‘clutter’ on radar screens and can be mistaken for aircraft. Traditionally this has been addressed by ‘blanking’ out the area, which while effective is not a long term sustainable solution.
A dual Terma SCANTER 4002 radar system capable of mitigating the impact of the turbines will be delivered into service at Edinburgh in January 2017. NATS is then contracted to operate and maintain the service for the 25 year life of the wind farm.
Chris Walker, Muirhall Energy Managing Director, said: “This is an incredibly exciting time for Muirhall Energy. The 15 turbine Tormywheel project is located less than 4 miles from our office, and reaching agreement with NATS will not only allow our company to deliver the wind farm but potentially allow other wind projects in the central Scotland to be realised.”
Iain Harris, NATS Engineering Services Director, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Muirhall Energy and Edinburgh Airport in the provision of an assured technology solution that mitigates any possible impact caused by the Tormywheel Wind Farm.”
Andy Sage, NATS Information Services Director, added: “This is an excellent example of how NATS is providing innovative solutions to help the industry progress important developments in time to meet the government’s funding deadline, while contributing to 2020 renewable energy targets.”
The contract with Muirhall Energy comes after a number of successful trials at UK airports that demonstrated the Terma system is capable of safely mitigating the impact of turbines while detecting even small targets beyond 40nm with good low level coverage.
In October NATS announced that it would also be providing a Terma SCANTER 4002 based mitigation solution for the Frodsham Wind Farm to Chester Hawarden and Liverpool John Lennon airports.
