An East Clare wildlife rescue centre manager has claimed the proposed development of wind turbines near the 12 O’Clock Hills will destroy the environment for native wildlife species.
Bev Truss, who runs the Hogsprickle Wildlife Rescue Centre in Broadford is opposing plans for the provision of nine 180 metre high turbines in the Knockshanvo Wind farm.
“I have been using Knockshanvo and Sunyata for many years to release hedgehogs. I have been in Ireland for 23 years. A lot of people know me,” she said.
“I am passionate about Irish wildlife and heritage,” she said.
If the wind farm is approved for planning permission, Ms Truss claimed the destruction of wildlife habitats will have a huge impact when trees and kilometres of hedgerows are removed. She pointed out birds and hedgehogs need hedgerows to survive.
“Hedgehogs are a protected endangered species in Ireland. Hen Harriers are an endangered species. Kestrels are on the red list.
“If hedgehogs move out of an area, you know there is something wrong with that area. Hedgehogs rely a lot on their auditory senses to hear worms and beetles under the ground so they can dig up their food.
“If you take away that environment so people can get cheap electricity, in my mind that is not fathomable.
“People go on to the 12 O’Clock Hills to walk and spend time in nature, which helps quieten your mind. If wind turbines are built and start turning, the infra sound will have an impact on peoples’ mental health and species that are echo locating to find food like horshoe bats.”
She said there are research papers that show invertebrates move away when the infra sound goes into the soil due to the vibrations.
While wind farm companies may argue that wildlife can go elsewhere, Ms Truss believes this will not work.
Asked if securing power from wind farms is better for the environment than fossil fuels, Ms Truss argues there has to be a better alternative than on-shore wind farms and solar farms.
“It is better than oil and gas but at what cost to the environment,” she said.
“Wind farms make a lot of money for developers but our energy costs are still going up because we are feeding it to the data centres.
“We need green spaces for children. If you have light flicker and infra sound going together, it is like mental torture.
“There are no wind farms between Kildare and Dublin but they want to come down and ruin our lives.
“We are trying to save the environment on one hand and on the other hand we are trying to destroy it. There has to be something else that doesn’t harm the environment.”
She proposed the government should increase the grants for solar panels on roofs of houses and agricultural buildings.
She says they could even erect them for free and enter into an agreement with the owner concerning the benefits.
Having erected a solar panel on her own dwelling, Ms Truss said she hasn’t paid an electricity bill in six months.
Ms Truss has been in Veterinary Practice since 1985 after five years as a countryside ranger in her native Scotland.
Working closely with a few trusted rescue groups, her centre is also open to help any wildlife species that need rehabilitation.
A few years ago, Ms Truss left veterinary practice to work in wildlife rescue full time as a licensed rehabilitator.
Her animal rescue centre takes in every protected species in Ireland with the help of volunteers.
Last year, the centre took in more than 400 hedgehogs and birds of prey such as owls, kestrels, buzzards, stoats and pine martens.
In December 2021, Coillte and ESB established a joint venture company owned on a Fifty-fifty basis called FuturEnergy Ireland. The company’s ambition is to develop more than 1 gigawatt of renewable energy capacity with supportive battery storage facilities by 2030 and make a significant contribution to Ireland’s commitment to produce 80% of electricity from renewable sources by the end of the decade.
FuturEnergy Ireland says it aspires to work collaboratively with the communities surrounding their renewable energy sites to build projects that are good for us as a commercial company, good for our neighbours, and that contribute towards national and global climate change objectives.
Their experienced team, many of whom transferred from the Coillte Renewable Energy division into FuturEnergy Ireland, has developed a number of wind farms in Ireland and therefore has a long history of working with communities around the country.
According to a Community Engagement Report submitted by MKO consultants on behalf of the company concerns were raised directly with the CLOs from numerous households about the potential impact of shadow flicker from the turbines.
The report states that the proposed layout conforms with the Wind Energy Development Guidelines (WEGs) 2006 of maximum 30 minutes of shadow flicker per day or 30 hours per annum at any sensitive receptor through the management of the turbine operations during periods when there is a potential for shadow flicker.
In accordance with emerging best practice and the draft Wind Energy Development Guidelines (WEGs) 2019, the project is committed to elimination of shadow flicker, subject to safe shut down of the turbines, through the daily management of turbine operations.
Further details on this can be found in the Shadow Flicker Chapter of the EIAR.
Noise and visual impacts were addressed as part of the layout design process. A decision was made early in the design process to ensure that a minimum distance of 750 metres would be maintained between the nearest inhabited dwellings and turbines.
This approach was guided by learnings from previous projects where it proved popular with near neighbours to increase the setback distances to greater than the current recommended setback of 500 metres, as set out in the Wind Energy Guidelines 2006. The setback of 750m also complies with the Draft WEGs 2019, which are not, as of the time of writing this report, official policy and may change in the final form.
The Draft WEGs recommend a minimum setback of four times the tip height of proposed turbines to protect residential amenity.
The report states detailed site surveys and assessments were undertaken to consider potential impacts on all aspects of biodiversity including habitats, mammals, bats and birds.
The initial survey findings informed the layout design such that potentially sensitive areas were avoided in the layout. More detailed surveys were undertaken following from the preliminary infrastructure layout designs and amendments were made to avoid sensitive areas, insofar as possible.
Based on these assessments, it is considered that there will not be significant impacts on biodiversity in general and no further changes to the layout are required.
Ecological enhancements will also be provided throughout the wind farm site as set out in the Biodiversity Management and Enhancement Plan, which includes over approximately 100 hectares of peatland restoration.
The noise assessment also included a cumulative noise assessment in relation to other proposed wind farm developments in the area.
East Clare correspondent, Dan Danaher is a journalism graduate of Rathmines and UL. He has won numerous awards for special investigations on health, justice, environment, and reports on news, agriculture, disability, mental health and community.