Yves R. Hamel and Associates Inc. (YRH) is a recognised leader in the telecommunications industry and particularly in broadcast systems engineering. As such, YRH was involved in the earliest Canadian "wind-farm" project, producing a wind turbine environmental impact study for various telecommunications systems and services.

The impact of "wind-farm" implementation on existing telecommunications systems can be significant and in some cases may be fatal if certain precautions are not considered when the wind turbine site selection is performed. When proper care are not taken, the systems at highest risk of suffering catastrophic failure are point- to-point microwave links and navigational radar. Other telecommunications systems, such as TV broadcasting, navigational aids, meteorological radar and AM radio stations can also suffer signal quality degradation.

YRH has developed a modern analysis tool to predict the quality of TV signal reception in the presence of wind turbines. This tool uses data extracted from the results of previous research executed by widely recognized authorities. This TV interference prediction model combined with the computational power of modern radio propagation tools, results in a significant improvement to the prediction of any possible negative impact that a "wind-farm" might have on the quality of TV reception. This unique analysis tool computes the Grade of Quality (GoQ) of the received television signal at every points surrounding the "wind-farm" and identifies all points where a lower than standard GoQ might occur, along with an estimate for the probability of occurrence.

YRH has also developed a tool to define the microwave links required exclusion zone(1) and clearly defines conflicting locations for the wind turbines in order to eliminate potential interference to the microwave links. A methodology to estimate the extent of the radar data degradation has also been developed.

YRH has the leading expertise to complete all aspects of the impact study on telecommunications systems of any wind farm project and would be glad to help you to identify and to reduce or eliminate any potentially conflicting situations with telecommunication systems before they occur.

(1) Fresnel Zone Clearance