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Wind turbines would impact Navy radar

The Baltimore Sun|Greg Gillingham|April 28, 2014
MarylandSafety

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratories performed an independent analysis to verify the interference and look for potential solutions. MIT briefed the Navy and the political leaders on their findings, and that is driving the necessity of the bill HB 1168 to delay construction of only those turbines that are so tall they impact testing at the naval base. Currently there are no proven technical solutions that can mitigate the effects posed by wind turbines on these systems.


As the former director of the Atlantic Test Ranges at Patuxent River, Maryland I have been reading with interest the various articles related to the effects of wind turbines on instrumentation radar systems located at this facility. I am a recognized national expert on test range operations with over 40 years of experience in this field. I would like to let the public know that wind turbine development on the Eastern Shore is a real encroachment threat to sensitive test measurements performed by the Navy at Patuxent River.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratories performed an independent analysis to verify the interference and look for potential solutions. MIT briefed the Navy and the political leaders on …

... more [truncated due to possible copyright]

As the former director of the Atlantic Test Ranges at Patuxent River, Maryland I have been reading with interest the various articles related to the effects of wind turbines on instrumentation radar systems located at this facility. I am a recognized national expert on test range operations with over 40 years of experience in this field. I would like to let the public know that wind turbine development on the Eastern Shore is a real encroachment threat to sensitive test measurements performed by the Navy at Patuxent River.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratories performed an independent analysis to verify the interference and look for potential solutions. MIT briefed the Navy and the political leaders on their findings, and that is driving the necessity of the bill HB 1168 to delay construction of only those turbines that are so tall they impact testing at the naval base. Currently there are no proven technical solutions that can mitigate the effects posed by wind turbines on these systems.

To be perfectly clear, neither the Navy nor the political leaders are against wind turbines. In fact, the Navy fully supports the use of alternative energy sources and has worked closely with local, state and federal agencies to establish procedures for wind turbine encroachment. The Navy even generated a map to show the allowable height of turbines as a function of distance from the radars to ease the approval process. However, the commercial wind turbines proposed for Somerset County will be among the tallest in the country and are too tall to be placed as currently planned without significantly impacting the Navy's systems.

By comparison, I have yet to see any independent assessment that verifies the assertions consistently cited by those that are against this legislation. It is quite disturbing and reckless to write an article that is spun to be purposefully misleading as to promote an agenda without regard for the truth or consequences. In the Baltimore Sun's April 20th "Gone with the wind farm?" editorial, there were multiple misleading statements presented and most data were inaccurate as to leave the reader with the impression this is an insignificant matter and should not even be considered by the governor.

First, the effects of turbines on the Navy systems are a real and documented national security concern to the Navy, not theoretical, imagined or perceived as claimed. The Navy's systems are one of a kind and are essential to the Defense Department. The cost alone to military programs utilizing this test capability could potentially be tens of millions of dollars per day for schedule delays caused by workaround procedures. Second, the data presented in the editorial regarding the lost investment dollars in Maryland, potential jobs created, or expected annual tax revenues have not been independently verified. In fact these numbers are grossly exaggerated by using invalid assumptions. Third, draft agreements being discussed between the Navy and the wind farm builder, Pioneer Green, are not legally binding. This means after this Texas based company constructs the wind farm it will be turned over to another company to operate, and that company will be left with agreements that are essentially unenforceable by the Navy.

Lastly this is not a David vs. Goliath scenario, although one might get that impression by reading the editorial. The Southern Maryland region has reached out numerous times to Somerset County to participate in a joint land use study that would explore compatible business development opportunities in the regions surrounding the Navy's Patuxent River complex. This study could help identify better paying job opportunities than those offered by wind turbine development. It is unfortunate that unlike other counties in the region, Somerset County chose not to participate. However, this is a scenario in which the wind energy interests are using scare tactics to defeat a common sense bill that passed both houses of the legislature by a wide margin.


Source:http://www.baltimoresun.com/n…

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