Environment Canada radar software to address wind farms effects on weather forecasts
Cowley Ridge Wind Farm in Alberta (Credit: Gavin Schaefer, via Flickr)
To combat the effects wind farms have on weather forecasts, Environment Canada is launching new radar software, according to The Canadian Press. The software should address some of the cluttered forecasts wind farms cause.
Officials at the agency say the movement of wind turbine propellers can mimic weather and disrupt Doppler radar readings. Since accurate measurements rely on movement by filtering out stationary objects, radar measurements closer to wind farms are not as reliable. And officials at Environment Canada say they have seen radar blockages in some cases.
The new radar software is planned to be up and running this fall. As an extra layer of protection, the agency is also working with energy companies that have agreed to shut down wind turbines during extreme weather events.
Image: Cowley Ridge Wind Farm in Alberta (Credit: Gavin Schaefer, via Flickr)
One Comment
Leave a Reply
Enviro Equipment Inc.
August 20, 2014 at 4:29 pm
We follow the development of wind power as many of our customers are environmental consultants used in assessments surrounding this type of energy production but they’ve never heard of these turbines disrupting weather forecasts, at least not here in the US. About the only negative environmental consequences of large-scale wind farms has been there the structure of birds but I guess you learn something new every day in the environmental industry.