Labour’s 100ft wind turbines risk jamming defence radars

Businesses and schools would be able to install towers on their land, but structures could interfere with navigation systems

Labour will tear up planning rules to make way for wind turbines that the Government admits could interfere with defence radar systems.

Under net zero plans, businesses, schools and farms would be able to install wind turbines close to 100ft (30 metres) high without needing planning permission to “lower their bills and make the best use of their land”.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s consultation on the plans acknowledges that such “wind turbines can cause interference with radar and navigation systems”.

It goes on to say that the plans may need to include “an extra condition” to mitigate interference with radars used by air traffic control. 

The RAF said: “We need to ensure that they can continue to operate safely.”

An extra condition could include creating an exclusionary zone, but the department provided no further details and said it was “currently exploring what this condition could look like”.

The towers and rotating blades of wind turbines were known to interfere with radar detection by reflecting signals, which could obscure the detection of aircraft, missiles and drones.

In December, the US paused the construction of five wind farms to “address emerging national security risks”. Officials said they were concerned about radar interference “clutter”, making it difficult to “determine what’s friend and foe in our airspace”.

In 2024, he Swedish government blocked more than a dozen offshore wind farms over fears that the country would be more vulnerable to attacks from Russia.

Pål Jonson, the defence minister, said the structures could interfere with missile detection systems, halving the time Sweden had to react to an attack from two minutes to 60 seconds.

Under current UK law, only the owners of detached houses would be able to mount a wind turbine on top of their home without planning permission. The wind turbines would have to be no taller than 15 metres.  Meanwhile, a turbine up to 11.1 metres tall can be placed in the garden of a home or a block of flats.

The Government proposals say the “small-scale” turbines could be no bigger than mature oak trees, but in reality, the structures would stand at the same height as the Christ the Redeemer statue (30 metres) and taller than the Angel of the North (20 metres).

Security experts and MPs have questioned why the Government would pave the way for a proliferation of wind turbines at a time of geopolitical uncertainty.

Dr Alan Mendoza, the executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, a security think tank, said there was a “clear contradiction” in ministers “proposing to loosen planning rules for wind turbines while openly acknowledging they may interfere with air traffic control and air defence radar”.

Dr Mendoza, Reform UK’s chief adviser on global affairs, added: “At a time of heightened geopolitical tension, national resilience should mean strengthening oversight of critical infrastructure – not weakening it. The integrity of UK airspace is not a secondary concern.

“Energy security matters, but it cannot come at the expense of aviation safety or defence capability. The Government must demonstrate these risks have been fully resolved before accelerating deployment.”

‘We should proceed with caution’
Mark Francois, the shadow Armed Forces minister, urged the Government to follow the lead of fellow Nato countries and prioritise national security over clean energy.

He said: “There is a long-standing issue about potential interference by wind farms, particularly increasingly large turbines, on the RAF radar network. We should therefore proceed with caution in this area, as indeed have a number of our Nato allies.

“The best thing Ed Miliband can do for our national security is restart drilling on oil fields in the North Sea rather than helping to put wind turbines in the way of RAF radars.”

Despite homeowners being allowed to install a small wind turbine without submitting planning permission since 2011, the technology has not taken off. Data from MCS, which sets standards for microgeneration, showed that only 128 were installed in the last decade.

While the decision to scrap planning permission would only be applied to the installation of one turbine on a non-domestic property, the consultation opened the door to installing multiple turbines.

Mr Miliband’s department said it had been awaiting a response on the allowance of more than one turbine or larger turbines in “certain contexts”.