The Ministry of Defence has objected to at least four planned wind farms in the past year, warning that turbines twice the height of Big Ben would interfere with air defence radars. In late June, military officers raised concerns over plans to build a giant wind farm in Yorkshire, part of Net Zero, which could see 23 turbines built to heights of 200m.
The turbines would interfere with nearby RAF air traffic control systems and an air defence radar set up to spot enemy jets, The Telegraph reports.
Fast-track planning concerns
Former Energy Secretary Ed Miliband changed the rules in December to ensure that onshore wind projects could be classed as nationally significant infrastructure projects and bypass the local planning system. These projects can be put on a fast-track planning scheme to speed up the process.
One of them is the huge Hope Moor Wind Farm in Yorkshire. In a letter to planning officials, the Ministry of Defence warned that RAF Leeming was only 19 miles away from the site and had an air traffic control radar. It said that the turbines would create false radar returns, which could result in real aircraft "not being detected".
Interference with air defence
The letter also warned that the turbines would cause "unacceptable interference" to air defence radar at Brizlee Wood, 67 miles away. This would undermine its ability "to detect and deter aircraft in United Kingdom sovereign airspace, thereby preventing it from effectively performing its primary function of air defence of the UK".
In recent years, the radars have spotted a number of Russian warplanes in UK airspace. They scan the skies 24 hours a day and are used to intercept airborne threats, including ballistic missiles.
Collision course with energy goals
The complaint risks putting the MoD on a collision course with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) as the Government aims to double the UK's onshore wind power capacity by 2030.
The MoD has a long history of objecting to wind farm developments. Hope Moor is one of four wind farms under fire from the "Not One Moor" campaign, led by former England cricketer Lord Botham. Others include the Scout Moor wind farm in Lancashire, the Walshaw Moor wind farm in West Yorkshire and Ray Fell wind farm in Northumberland.
However, industry sources note that the precautionary concerns do not usually rule out development, The Guardian reports. The "well-trodden path to the negotiating table" usually leads to minor adjustments to the size or height of the turbines, which means they can move ahead, they said.
Miatta Fahnbulleh, the Energy Secretary, is yet to decide whether the Hope Moor Wind Farm project will go ahead.
