Reducing the effect of offshore wind farms on the REWS CFAR detection threshold

Radar Early Warning Systems (REWS) are an important part of the protection and management infrastructure for offshore Oil and Gas (O&G) platforms and subsea assets. REWS are typically installed onboard O&G platforms to monitor and track nearby surface traffic and alert operators of potential collision threats. However, it is not uncommon for offshore wind farms to be located within few nautical miles from offshore O&G assets. Wind farms can interfere with the REWS due to their large and varying returns, which may cause loss of detection of targets of interest. This paper will consider the complex radar scattering from turbines within the nearfield region and will apply the radar returns modeling to a realistic wind farm scenario. The paper will present some modeling results to illustrate the potential effects of wind farm returns on the detection threshold. The paper will then propose a theoretical approach to minimize the adverse effects of wind farms on the Constant False Alarm Rate (CFAR) threshold.