Offshore wind farm could create radar blind spots and ‘ghost’ targets, Chinese study warns

Offshore wind farms can reduce the coverage of shore-based radar systems and create areas where targets become harder to detect, according to a new study.

The researchers found that at a range of 5km (3 miles), effective radar coverage fell by 6.9 per cent while blind spots increased by 14.9 per cent.

The research, published online last month in the peer-reviewed Chinese journal Radio Engineering, was conducted by Professor Liu Zunnian and his team from Qingdao Technological University and the Yantai Communication Centre of the Beihai Navigation Security Centre under the Ministry of Transport.

The team found that large arrays of wind turbines could produce false “ghost” targets through reflected radar signals, potentially complicating the detection of vessels in coastal waters.