Current News
IHS Jane's Airport Review — July/August 2013 Issue
UK and US continue wind farm mitigation work
Recent weeks have seen progress in wind farm mitigation on both sides of the Atlantic.
The US completed the third of three trials to evaluate technology designed to mitigate interference caused by wind farm turbines to radar returns in April.
The two-year Interagency Field Test & Evaluation programme is sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Department of Energy (DoE). Latest results are due to be released in the fourth quarter of 2013, following analysis by Sandia National Laboratories and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory.
In the UK, in late May wind farm development company Vattenfall selected an infill surveillance solution in order to mitigate the effects of extending the Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm in late May 2013. Vattenfall, with the support of airport owner Infratil, commissioned C Speed to install its Lightwave radar at Manston Airport and for Thales to integrate the radar data with its STAR 2000 primary radar and TopSky display. Vattenfall appointed Osprey Consulting Services as project manager. Osprey Managing Director John Arden told IHS Jane's: "Manston is of immense importance. This is the first of the offered infill solutions to be purchased. This is a system mitigator that has to deal with big wind farms. If we do our job properly this will be the first of its type in the UK."
C Speed began testing its Lightwave radar at Manston Airport in December 2012, and delivered a production unit in March 2013 to work in conjunction with the airport's Thales STAR 2000 primary radar. The company is supplying a twin unit, built to the required production and safety case specifications at its US factory, for the rigorous period of testing due to take place during 2013.
Renewable Energy News — Issue 264 — May 23, 2013
C Speed cracks UK mitigation market
Radar specialist C Speed has landed the first commercial supply contract in the UK for its Lightwave technology.
The US company's solid state system will be used to eliminate air traffic control clutter at Manston Airport in Kent from Vattenfall's 51MW Kentish Flats extension offshore wind farm.
C Speed demonstrated Lightwave's aircraft tracking capabilities earlier this year at Manston, following other apparently successful trials. The results convinced Vattenfall and airport owner Infratil to commission C Speed to integrate Lightwave with Manston's Thales Star 2000 surveillance radar.
This work is underway with consultancy Osprey CSL project managing and helping obtain regulatory approvals.
Infratil is considering Lightwave to mitigate a cluster of wind proposals around Glasgow Prestwick as well, sources said.
A deal could open the door to a regional solution for sites in Scotland's central belt between Prestwick, Glasgow and Edinburgh airports.
A purchase may not materialise immediately, however, as there are indications procurement will be subject to a competitive tender.
The Prestwick contract is “C Speed's to lose”, a source said, but Infratil is keeping an eye on other solutions due to come to market over the summer.
C Speed is meanwhile progressing a further opportunity with Newcastle Airport to overcome air traffic control interference from Vattenfall's 56MW Ray Estate wind farm in Northumberland.
The Swedish utilitydeveloper is separately seeking to address Ray's impact on the NATS En Route radar station at Great Dun Fell, it is understood.
Vattenfall is thought to be lining up the so-called Raytheon solution to overcome the final aviation objection at the consented 16-turbine project.
Windpower Monthly — September 2012 Issue
With LightWave radar from C Speed, The picture is Becoming Clearer
When the United Kingdom's major aviation stakeholders, including the Royal Air Force and major airport operators, orchestrated a test of wind turbine clutter mitigating radar in June 2012, they invited only one company — C Speed, an innovative designer and manufacturer of state-of-the-art, high-performance radar technology based in Liverpool, New York, U.S.A. This test, the mitigation of the Whitelee Windfarm in Scotland, was deemed successful as these major aviation stakeholders witnessed live demonstrations of very small radar cross-section aircraft, ultralights, being flown over the wind farm.
It was the second recent acknowledgement of C Speed's promising LightWave Radar technology, an S-band solid-state primary surveillance radar system for wind turbine mitigation. Earlier in 2012, C Speed was one of three companies selected to participate in a three-week-long test for the U.S. Departments of Energy, Defense, Homeland Security and Transportation.
C Speed is also testing its LightWave technology throughout the summer at two airports in the United Kingdom. These tests will focus on integrating LightWave radar technology into the airports' ATM system now that testing has proven LightWave's mitigation capability. The most influential names in worldwide aviation are taking notice of the capabilities of C Speed and its LightWave radar.
The Wind Turbine — A unique Clutter Generator
Historically, the development of wind farms that produce clean, sustainable energy has been hindered near airports and other radar-monitored areas by the inability of radar to correctly differentiate aircraft from wind turbines. These large structures have parts that move at different velocities and vary their angle of reflection as the wind direction changes, causing complex clutter patterns on traditional radar displays.
C Speed developed LightWave specifically for the purpose of deciphering the unique clutter generated by wind turbines. Using a high pulse repetition frequency (PRF), LightWave observes
the aircraft's velocity attributes and identifies and differentiates it from the wind turbine, without depending on less reliable probability modeling. LightWave is configured with a proprietary adaptive algorithm set that mitigates the turbine clutter and provides air traffic controllers with a clean air picture over the wind farm.
LightWave operates on S-band frequency, providing both consistency with existing technology and effective performance in adverse weather conditions. When installed alongside an airport's existing primary radar equipment, LightWave can monitor entire regions, even those that include multiple wind farms.
A renewable energy Solution
LightWave's ability to provide a clear air picture means airport operators who partner with
C Speed need not be concerned about wind farm development nearby. In fact, negotiations with wind farm developers on equipment, repair and airspace leasing costs make LightWave a part of a cost- neutral strategy that allows airport operators to lead the push in promoting renewable energy.
LightWave is an affordable solution for wind turbine mitigation that allows airports and wind farms to coexist. Turn to LightWave, and help the winds
of change blow in. For more information, visit www.lightwaveradar.com.
The Airport Operator — Summer 2012 Issue
With LightWave radar from C Speed, The picture is Becoming Clearer
When the United Kingdom's major aviation stakeholders, including the Royal Air Force and major airport operators, orchestrated a test of wind turbine clutter mitigating radar in June 2012, they invited only one company — C Speed, an innovative designer and manufacturer of state-of-the-art, high-performance radar technology based in Liverpool, New York, U.S.A. This test, the mitigation of the Whitelee Windfarm in Scotland, was deemed successful as these major aviation stakeholders witnessed live demonstrations of very small radar cross-section aircraft, ultralights, being flown over the wind farm.
It was the second recent acknowledgement of C Speed's promising LightWave Radar technology, an S-band solid-state primary surveillance radar system for wind turbine mitigation. Earlier in 2012, C Speed was one of three companies selected to participate in a three-week-long test for the U.S. Departments of Energy, Defense, Homeland Security and Transportation.
C Speed is also testing its LightWave technology throughout the summer at two airports in the United Kingdom. These tests will focus on integrating LightWave radar technology into the airports' ATM system now that testing has proven LightWave's mitigation capability. The most influential names in worldwide aviation are taking notice of the capabilities of C Speed and its LightWave radar.
The Wind Turbine — A unique Clutter Generator
Historically, the development of wind farms that produce clean, sustainable energy has been hindered near airports and other radar-monitored areas by the inability of radar to correctly differentiate aircraft from wind turbines. These large structures have parts that move at different velocities and vary their angle of reflection as the wind direction changes, causing complex clutter patterns on traditional radar displays.
C Speed developed LightWave specifically for the purpose of deciphering the unique clutter generated by wind turbines. Using a high pulse repetition frequency (PRF), LightWave observes
the aircraft's velocity attributes and identifies and differentiates it from the wind turbine, without depending on less reliable probability modeling. LightWave is configured with a proprietary adaptive algorithm set that mitigates the turbine clutter and provides air traffic controllers with a clean air picture over the wind farm.
LightWave operates on S-band frequency, providing both consistency with existing technology and effective performance in adverse weather conditions. When installed alongside an airport's existing primary radar equipment, LightWave can monitor entire regions, even those that include multiple wind farms.
A renewable energy Solution
LightWave's ability to provide a clear air picture means airport operators who partner with
C Speed need not be concerned about wind farm development nearby. In fact, negotiations with wind farm developers on equipment, repair and airspace leasing costs make LightWave a part of a cost- neutral strategy that allows airport operators to lead the push in promoting renewable energy.
LightWave is an affordable solution for wind turbine mitigation that allows airports and wind farms to coexist. Turn to LightWave, and help the winds
of change blow in. For more information, visit www.lightwaveradar.com.
IHS Jane's Airport Review — July 2012 Issue
C Speed combats windfarm interference
A digital RF receiver/exciter and signal/data processor designed and manufactured by C Speed is being adopted in windfarm clutter mitigation trials on both sides of the Atlantic. US-based C Speed exhibited to the international market for the first time at ATC Global 2012 in March, introducing its LightWave S-band solid-state primary radar for civil airport or in-fill applications. C Speed President and Chief Executive Officer David Lysack told IHS Jane's : "When configured in its high PRF mode, LightWave offers advanced radar processing and algorithmic capabilities and provides in-fill coverage for wind turbines that generate clutter on conventional radar displays." In the US, C Speed is one of three companies (the others being Lockheed Martin and Raytheon) selected by the federal government from an international pool of candidates to demonstrate state-of-the-art commercially available technologies that counter the effect of wind turbines on radar returns. The US trial was designed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory and then conducted in Tyler, Minnesota, in April 2012. Brian Connor of the US Department of Energy is leading the interagency effort, which also includes the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Transportation.
C Speed is also testing its LightWave radar technology in the UK throughout 2012. Trials are planned during the summer months at several UK airports where windfarm proposals threaten to disrupt existing radar systems. Ex-Ministry of Defence (MoD) Estates officer David Jones, currently the Aviation Solutions Manager at RWE NPower Renewables and Fund Management Board (FMB) Trial Team Leader, is heading the first programme. This trial is supported and funded by the Aviation Investment Fund Company Ltd, which is managed by the Aviation Advisory Panel (AAP) and FMB. The first trial starts in June at the Whitelee Wind Farm southeast of Glasgow; it will assess the benefits of LightWave's in-fill technology in countering the effects of wind turbine interference. The trial was designed by the UK aviation stakeholders that include representatives of the Airport Owners Association (AOA), NATS Services, NATS En Route, the Civil Aviation Authority (including its Safety Regulation Group), the MoD and several industry consultants.
As LightWave has already been successfully demonstrated at several locations in the US, C Speed has been contracted by several major UK windfarm developers to install and operate LightWave radar systems to demonstrate the system's effectiveness at UK airports. Infratil Airports Europe, with airports at Manston and Prestwick, is assisting with the UK trial process taking place in 2012. According to David Colangelo, C Speed director of ground-based radar business development: "C Speed shipped several complete LightWave systems into the UK at the end of May for concurrent installations at multiple sites for the demonstrations that we will perform through early 2013."
LightWave operates at S band with a mitigation range out to 25 n miles and an extended surveillance range of 60 n miles. It provides standard Asterix output and is available as a standalone system or in a multisensor configuration. The US Department of Commerce has approved LightWave for export to the UK and to most other countries.
