Turbine-review process, military-zone plan under scrutiny in defense authorization bill

摘要

Some members of a House of Representatives armed services nsubcommittee suggested last week possibly having military and naviation officials develop a more comprehensive process to review nwind turbines for their impact on military functions and aviation.n Stu Webster, director of wind development permitting for nIberdrola Renewables, agreed at a subcommittee hearing that the nprocess could use improvement, but he expressed worry about nestablishment of restrictive military impact zones as proposed in nthe pending fiscal year 2011 National Defense Authorization Act. nSpeaking on behalf of the American Wind Energy Association, nWebster told the Subcommittee on Readiness that the zone plan, nwhich would put certain areas off limits for wind farms depend-ning on their proximity to military radar installations, would make nwind development in some cases “difficult, if not impossible.” nBut while AWEA does not support the zone plan, he said, it ndoes support upgrading older radars, specifically long-range radars ndating to the 1950s that are prone to wind turbine interference.