A wind turbine at Cape Cod Air Force Station, part of Joint Base Cape Cod, Mass., is partially powering one of the largest ground-based missile warning radars in the United States.
The 6th Space Warning Squadron at JBCC operates the Phased Array Warning System, named PAVE PAWS. The radar operates around the clock and has a 3,000-mile reach down the east coast and over the Atlantic Ocean.
Although its main purpose is to detect submarine-launched ballistic missiles, PAVE PAWS also tracks satellites in low-Earth orbit. To achieve this range, the radar requires massive amounts of energy, amounting to a $1.6 million annual electric bill.
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