Wind power and flight safety

Within the scope of the energy transition (or “Energiewende” in German), an intensive search for areas suitable for constructing new wind turbines is being undertaken; air navigation facilities (VORs) and new wind farms are competing for suitable locations. By means of a forecasting method developed at PTB, it is now possible to determine with much greater accuracy the extent to which wind energy systems interfere with air navigation facilities and the distance required between the two. The new calculation formula has been in use in official procedures since June of 2020.

Metrologically speaking, this scientific task was complex and the project was the only one of its kind in the world. To test the entire electromagnetic field around VORs and wind turbines, the scientists developed (among other instruments) precision-navigation drones whose eight rotors allow stationary hovering flight in order to carry out on-site measurements at altitudes of up to several hundred meters. Using specially designed high-frequency measurement technology and integrated antennas, it was possible to record how the radio signals propagate, how they are reflected and scattered by wind turbines and how the reflected signals overlap with the direct signals of the air navigation facilities. Leibniz University Hannover, FCS Flight Calibration Services GmbH, Jade Hochschule Wilhelmshaven, the Institute of Computational Mathematics of TU Braunschweig and “steep GmbH”, a technical service provider, were the research partner organizations for this project.