Wind farms vs. neighbors - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 34

recent years, especially in the United States. Many of the most promising
sites for wind energy projects in the United States are located in western
regions of the country where wind resources are strong and land is
plentiful. Unfortunately, these wide open spaces are also prime locations
for military training bases and other military facilities that make heavy use
of radar equipment. As wind energy development has rapidly expanded in
the western United States over the past decade, it has often encountered
resistance from military interests concerned about the potential impacts of
wind farms on their radar systems. 87
Under regulations issued by the United States Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) can formally
challenge proposed commercial wind turbine installations that they believe
could interfere with military radar. 88 These regulations require parties to
file a Notice of Proposed Construction with the FAA before erecting any
structure that extends more than 200 feet above the surface of land. 89
The FAA then examines the site and decides whether to issue a Notice of
Presumed Hazard (NPH) based on its determination that the proposed
structure could create a hazard within navigable airspace . 90
If the FAA issues an NPH against a wind energy developer, a potentially
long and expensive process can ensue, potentially delaying progress on
wind farm projects. In some instances, the FAA has issued an NPH against
a wind energy project even when the proposed turbines would be sited
dozens of miles away from any military base. 91 AWEA claims that roughly
half of the generating capacity of all commercial wind farms proposed in
the United States in 2009 was “abandoned or delayed because of radar
concerns raised by the military and the [FAA].” 92
One of the most highly-publicized clashes between a wind energy
developer and U.S. military interests involved the $2 billion Shepherds
Flat project in the U.S. state of Oregon in 2010. When the Shepherds Flat
project was announced, it promised to be the largest wind farm in the
country, involving more than 300 commercial-scale turbines . 93 Less than
two months before its developer planned to break ground on the project,
the FAA issued an NPH that prohibited the erection of any turbines in the
vast project area.
The FAA's objection to the Shepherds Flat project was based on concerns
from the U.S. Air Force that the project could interfere with its antiquated
radar station in Fossil, Oregon, about 50 miles away. 94 Delays associated
with the FAA's NPH threatened to kill the enormous project, which had
already been nine years in the making. 95 After senators from the state of
Oregon and members of President Barack Obama's cabinet put significant
pressure on the DOD, military officials ultimately retracted their objections
to the Shepherds Flat project, enabling it to proceed . 96
In many cases, military interests can easily avoid conflicts between
their radar and private wind energy development by installing relatively
inexpensive upgrades to aging radar systems . 97 With the help of researchers,