Buckingham Palace

Radar Line of Sight Assessment

(CAA, RAF, NATS, Eurocontrol)
London Gatwick PSR

Demo Wind

Buckingham Palace

Without Expert Commentary

Pager Power Ltd

New Mill, Bakers Court
Great Cornard, Suffolk, UK
T: 01787 319001
PAGERPOWER New Mill, Bakers Court, Great Cornard, Suffolk, UK
T: 01787 319001 E: info@pagerpower.co.uk W: www.pagerpower.co.uk
 E: info@pagerpower.co.uk
W: www.pagerpower.co.uk
1 CONTENTS

2 SUMMARY (EXECUTIVE) .............................................................................. 3

3 EXPERT COMMENTARY................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
4 RESULTS SUMMARY .................................................................................... 5
5 REQUESTED ASSESSMENT ........................................................................ 6
6 METHODOLOGY AND BACKGROUND ........................................................ 9
7 FURTHER INFORMATION – WIND FARMS AND RADAR ......................... 13
8 NOTICES ...................................................................................................... 14

Report Issue Date and Time of Request Expert Commentary Included

1 No

This assessment was requested by Pager Power User of Demo Wind.

Copyright © 2012 Pager Power Limited

Radar Line of Sight Assessment (CAA, RAF, NATS, Eurocontrol) 2

 2 SUMMARY (EXECUTIVE)

Pager Power

Pager Power was registered in England in 1997 and is made up of a team of

Details
specialist professionals, based near Cambridge. We are a truly international
business with more than 250 clients from across the globe.
Our reputation has been established as experts able to assess and provide
solutions to issues that can arise with any combination of wind turbines, radar, radio
communications and construction interaction. We strongly believe that our greatest
assets are our people and our software.

Purpose

The purpose of this assessment is to enable swift and cost effective decision
Details
making by wind turbine developers and radar operators. The optional Expert
Commentary offers advice as to the next steps that should be taken as a result of
the findings of this report.
Radar Line of Sight Calculations are used extensively in the planning stages of wind
farm development and are referenced by many leading authorities and
organisations, including the RAF and the CAA.

Wind Turbine Result

1 HIDDEN

Explanation: There is one Radar Line of Sight Calculation page for each turbine
assessed. Each calculation shows whether the turbine is VISIBLE or HIDDEN.
Visible turbines are likely to affect the radar whereas hidden turbines are unlikely to
affect the radar.

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Radar Line of Sight Assessment (CAA, RAF, NATS, Eurocontrol) 4
 3 RESULTS SUMMARY

Wind
Result Certainty Angle (Radar to Tip) Maximum Height
Turbine

1 HIDDEN 290.9 metres -0.188 degrees up 415.94 metres

Column Descriptions

Wind Turbine Turbine Number as entered or uploaded

VISIBLE turbines are likely to affect the radar whereas HIDDEN

Result
turbines are unlikely to affect the radar.
This is a vertical distance in metres and is the distance from the
Certainty turbine tip to the line of sight. The higher the number the greater
the certainty.
This is the vertical angle from the radar to the wind turbine tip.
Angle (Radar to Tip) Some radar are less likely to be affected by a wind turbine if this
angle is down and more likely to be affected if this angle is up.

A turbine having this tip height would be HIDDEN. A turbine that

Maximum Height
was any higher would be VISIBLE.

Radar Line of Sight Assessment (CAA, RAF, NATS, Eurocontrol) 5

 4 REQUESTED ASSESSMENT

Key Parameters
Details
 This Radar Line of Sight Assessment for Buckingham Palace was requested by
Pager Power User of Demo Wind.
 Assessment Methodology = Radar Line of Sight Calculation using advanced terrain
data processing algorithm;
 Coordinate System = Ordnance Survey National Grid (OSGB36);
 Coordinate System Region = OSGB36;
 Vertical Units = Metres;

Radar

 The assessed radar was London Gatwick PSR

Details
 This specific radar was selected from the online system
 Location and height information for this radar was sourced from a managed database

Development Location Data (as entered in online system)

Coordinate Coordinate Hub Height Tip Height Wind Turbine

(E) (N) (Metres AGL) (Metres AGL) Reference

529015 179645 80 125 1

Radar Line of Sight Assessment (CAA, RAF, NATS, Eurocontrol) 6

 Map Showing Assessed Turbine Locations

Details

Radar Line of Sight Assessment (CAA, RAF, NATS, Eurocontrol) 7

 Aerial Photograph Showing Assessed Turbine Locations
Det Aerial Photograph ails

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 5 METHODOLOGY AND BACKGROUND

Introduction
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This report indicates whether wind turbines at Buckingham Palace will be detected by the
London Gatwick PSR. This assessment shows:
 Whether wind turbines are VISIBLE or HIDDEN
 A level of certainty as to whether each wind turbine is likely to affect the radar or not.
 A profile chart showing the radar, each wind turbine and intervening terrain.

Scope
Details
This assessment:
 Is new and takes no previous assessment into account;
 Determines whether each assessed wind turbine at «ProjectName» will be within
Radar Line of Sight of the London Gatwick PSR;
 Does not account for any other radar;
 Does not account for diffraction effects;
 Does account for terrain, earth curvature and refraction effects;
 Uses an advanced terrain data processing algorithm optimized for accurate and
reliable wind farm radar calculations;

Official Guidance Details

The following organisations have published documents that refer to the use of Radar Line of
Sight Calculations for determining whether a wind turbine will affect a radar.
1. European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL)
2. UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)
3. UK Royal Air Force (RAF)
4. UK Wind Energy, Defence and Civil Aviation Interests Working Group
5. UK National Air Traffic Services (NATS)
6. US Department of Defense (DoD)
7. US Department of Commerce
8. US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA)
9. South African Weather Service (SAWS)
10. Radio Advisory Board of Canada (RABC)
11. Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA)

Radar Line of Sight Assessment (CAA, RAF, NATS, Eurocontrol) 9

 Report Preparation

This report has been created by a custom-built advanced online service which has the
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following features:
 Fast report delivery by email
 Responsive and knowledgeable technical support team
 Advanced terrain data processing algorithms
 Terrain Data Source = Ordnance Survey Panorama 50m DTM

Radar Line of Sight Calculation – Accuracy Details

 Terrain data used normally has a vertical accuracy of better than three metres.
 Comparisons and site measurements suggest the terrain data used has a vertical
accuracy of around 2 metres.
 This gives a typical accuracy of 4 metres for Radar Line of Sight Calculation results.
 Process accuracy is enhanced and designed to give cautious results by:
A. Using software developed specifically for wind turbine radar calculations
B. Using a weighted average algorithm to determine terrain elevation from terrain
data
C. Using an algorithm that underestimates, rather than overestimates, terrain peaks
D. Using terrain rather than surface data (Great Britain only)
E. Using terrain data that sometimes under-represents peaks (Great Britain only)
F. Continuous software development and improvement specifically for Radar Line
of Sight Calculations
G. Continuous process for managing radar position and height data

Results Interpretation
Details
1. Radar Line of Sight Calculations are widely used to make an initial determination as
to whether a radar will be affected by a wind turbine.
2. Other types of calculation may be more accurate in some circumstances.
3. There are examples of wind turbines that are VISIBLE to radar which do not affect
the radar.
4. There are few, if any, examples of wind turbines that are HIDDEN from a radar which
do affect the radar.
5. Whilst a Radar Line of Sight Calculation may show a wind turbine to be HIDDEN
other assessment types could indicate that the turbine will affect the radar.

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 Operational Assessment - General
Details
It is usual to determine whether a wind turbine impacts a radar with a technical assessment
followed by an operational assessment. The technical assessment determines whether the
wind turbine is likely to affect the radar (This report is a technical assessment).
Whilst operational assessments are subjective (they vary from country to country and airport
to airport) the following are often taken into consideration when making the assessment:
 Availability of alternative radar
 Operational importance of the area where the wind turbines are to be built
 Distance between the turbine and the radar
 Area covered by the wind development
 Number of wind turbines
 Proximity to existing and future wind developments

Mitigation
Details
If an operational assessment determines that a wind development will not be acceptable, it
may be possible to find a mitigation solution to reduce the wind turbine’s effects to an
acceptable level. Effective mitigation solutions include:
 Optimizing the wind farm layout to reduce visibility to radar
 Reducing the number of wind turbines
 Changes to operational procedures or rules so that wind turbine effects can be
accommodated
 Reconfiguring the radar and associated systems to reduce the impact of wind
turbines
 Providing additional radar data from a new or existing radar

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 Further Technical Assessment Options

A wind farm radar expert can review a Radar Line of Sight Calculation
Expert Review for a specific situation and can advise on technical impact, operational
impact, mitigation and other aspects.
Radar
A Radar Detectability calculation is a form of calculation that is more
Detectability
comprehensive than a Radar Line of Sight Calculation.
Calculation
Alternate sources of terrain data can give different results. Analysis with
an alternative source of data can be beneficial when results are
Terrain Data
marginal; the area is particularly hilly and/or the blocking point is close
to the radar.
Radar data may be processed and/or combined with data from other
sources before being displayed to radar operators. Assessing how
Systems Analysis
these processes work can help understand the actual effects a wind
turbine may have on radar displays.
Housing, airport buildings, urban development, forestry as well as other
Shielding structures and vegetation can limit a wind turbine’s visibility to the radar.
Assessment A desktop shielding assessment may determine the extent to which a
turbine may be hidden from the radar.
Using location and height data from a survey of radar, blocking points,
Site Survey significant trees and buildings and wind turbine locations can increase
the accuracy of calculation results.
The actual technical radar impact of existing wind turbines can be
Existing Wind assessed by observing radar screens or radar screen recordings.
Turbines These actual impacts can be compared with predicted impacts to build
further confidence in the assessment results.
Actual radar performance and coverage can be measured by
Other Options
measuring radar field strengths or by undertaking a helicopter flight trial.

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 6 FURTHER INFORMATION – WIND FARMS AND RADAR

Radar Operators
Details
UK operators of fixed radar installations include:
 Royal Air Force
 Royal Navy
 Ministry of Defence
 Met Office
 NATS (formerly National Air Traffic Services)
 NERL (NATS En Route Limited)
 Private Airports
 Port Authorities

Radar Types
Details
Types of radar that can be affected by wind turbines include:
 Primary Surveillance Radar (PSR)
 Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR)
 Precision Approach Radar (PAR)
 Air Defence Radar (sometimes referred to as ASACS)
 Air Traffic Control (ATC) Radar
 Meteorological Radar
 Marine Radar

Effects of Wind Farms on Radar

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Wind turbines can have a number of effects which are sometimes significant. These are
caused by moving and static parts of the wind turbines reflecting and blocking radar signals.
These effects include:
 False returns on radar displays
 Reduction in the radar’s ability to detect aircraft
 Reduction in the overall capabilities of the radar

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 7 NOTICES

1. This document is subject to Copyright. Copyright © 2012 Pager Power Limited

2. The purchaser of this document is entitled to use this document for internal purposes relating
only to the assessed infrastructure.

3. This document shall not be made accessible to the public via the internet and/or search
engines.

4. This document should only be distributed or circulated in its entirety.

5. Aerial photography has been sourced from Google.

6. This assessment uses data from a variety of sources. These include radar operators, Pager
Power research and surveys, terrain data providers and customers. This data is carefully
managed but errors and inaccuracies in the data may lead to errors and inaccuracies in
calculation results. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of this report it cannot
be legally relied upon.

Further Support and Information

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Managing the coexistence of wind turbines and radar is complex. Pager Power has the tools
and expertise to assist. If you have any questions or require further information please:
 call us on 01787 319001 during office hours or
 send an email to info@pagerpower.co.uk or
 come and see us at New Mill, Baker’s Court, Great Cornard, Suffolk or
 ask us to come and see you or
 visit www.pagerpower.co.uk

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