Up to 2.2GW of additional onshore wind capacity could be unlocked in the UK following a landmark agreement between air traffic services company NATS and two leading wind developers.
The deal with SSE and Vattenfall secures funding to modify two radar sites in a bid to prevent air traffic control interference caused by wind turbines.
They claim this could lead to up to £1billion additional investment in onshore wind and the creation of hundreds of jobs.
The sites, at Lowther Hill in South Lanarkshire and Great Dun Fell in Cumbria, will be fitted with mitigation technology which prevents turbine blades being mistaken for aircraft on radar screens.
The problem of turbines being mistaken for aircraft often results in NATS, which must be consulted on all UK wind turbine applications, objecting to proposed projects.
The air traffic body says it hopes the new technology, which has taken three years to develop, can be rolled out to other radar sites thus lifting restrictions on wind turbine developers.
“This is a landmark agreement that heralds a significant technical advance in mitigating the radar interference from wind turbines,” said NATS chief executive Richard Deakin.
“It unlocks significant potential for wind-based power generation and indeed for the UK in meeting its carbon reduction targets.”
Vattenfall UK head of development Piers Guy said the technology would benefit the whole of the industry.
He said: “This new capacity would generate well over a billion pounds of new investment creating hundreds of jobs and significantly boosting UK renewable energy production.”
Scots energy minister Fergus Ewing praised the partnership and said the technology had the potential to remove a significant barrier to wind energy deployment in Scotland.
RenewableUK chief executive Maria McCaffery said: “This is another significant step forward for the UK’s wind energy industry, as it creates fresh opportunities to install new capacity in areas of the country which enjoy excellent wind resources.
“It also marks what we hope is the start of a wider process to introduce modifications at other radar stations throughout the UK to unlock even greater capacity.”
Scottish Renewables policy manager Stephanie Clark said: “This solution could help projects successfully make their way through the planning system where they would have once been rejected because of aviation concerns.”
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