Wind turbines create clutter and blind spots on radar systems, interfering with air traffic control, ocean monitoring and risks to national security and defence. These themes increasingly matter. Hence this data-file screens a dozen companies mitigating the radar interference of wind turbines, from large listed providers of next-gen radar systems, to start-ups developing nano-scale stealth coatings for wind turbine blades.
Radar interference around wind turbines occurs as the motion of large wind turbine blades presents clutter on traditional radars, blind spots behind the turbines and ‘lost tracks’ when moving targets fly near to or behind the turbines (schematic below).
Radar interference can cause wind turbine applications to be rejected, especially along flight paths, in areas where weather/nautical monitoring is crucial, and increasingly for defence reasons. It is another example of the intersection between energy and national security. For example, Sweden rejected 30GW of offshore wind proposals in November-2024, over defense-related concerns.
This data-file screens companies developing mitigation measures for radar interference at wind turbines. They range from increasingly sensitive radars, triangulating between additional radar stations (sometimes on/around the wind farms themselves), to machine learning algorithms, to nano-scale stealth coatings that lower the signature of wind turbine blades.
Four companies stood out in particular. Three are world leaders in radar technology and seem to have been winning wind-mitigating awards recently, with further promise in detecting drone threats. Two more companies stood out in applying radar-resistant coatings to wind turbines that reduce >99% of the noise.
Full details of the companies mitigating radar interference at wind turbines are captured in the data-file, summarizing each company, its age, size, where it is based, whether it is public or private, an estimate of the business’s exposure to wind turbine radar mitigation, and a description of its solution and recent news flow. Our recent review of energy and national security overlaps is below.