Dark nights. Zero emission. Maximum acceptance. The passive radar system PARASOL has been developed by Dirkshof in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques (FHR). The system ensures that wind turbines only switch on flashing lights at night when an aircraft is nearby – and PARASOL does so completely emission-free.
Instead of generating its own radar beam, PARASOL uses existing television and mobile network signals to detect flying objects. No separate frequency assignment is needed – which makes the system particularly efficient, sustainable, and acceptable to authorities. All necessary permits issued by LLUR (environment), LBV (road construction), and aviation authorities (in Germany) were all received in 2018.
Three interconnected antennas calculate the precise position of airborne objects in real time by analysing the reflection of TV signals. The obstruction lights are only activated when needed – specifically if an object is flying below 600 m or less than 4 km of the wind turbine.Using signal delay and Doppler shift calculations, PARASOL detects relevant aircraft movements with the precision of a 3D radar. False alarms caused by bird flocks, vehicles, or rotating turbine blades are reliably filtered out.
Only three sensor stations per wind farm are required, which can be flexibly mounted on towers or turbines. Prior to commissioning, antenna locations are optimized through mobile measurements and test flights to ensure maximum coverage.
PARASOL is the intelligent, demand-based nighttime marking system for modern wind farms.
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