Renewable energy remains well supported in Scotland, with 70% of people wanting to see more renewables such as wind, solar and wave according to a poll published last week.
At RSPB Scotland, we certainly share this view; we need more well-sited renewable energy to protect people and nature alike from the uncertainty and impacts caused by climate change. With worrying statistics like an 87 per cent decline in kittiwakes on Orkney and Shetland since 2000, linked to warming seas, we cannot afford to be complacent in tackling this issue.
We are demonstrating our own commitment to low carbon energy at some of our reserves. Just last week, we switched on our new turbine at our UK Headquarters, which will put a healthy dent in our carbon emissions. Some commentators raised eyebrows at this, but I can assure you we thoroughly evaluated the impacts, and took a precautionary approach to any risks to wildlife before proceeding.
It’s always worth stressing the RSPB takes impacts of wind farms on birds, bats and other wildlife very seriously, unsurprisingly given our raison d’être as an organisation. Before giving the go ahead to the turbine, we carried out three years of surveys to ensure it was an appropriate site. If only all other developers invested as much in getting the facts established before rushing to a planning application.
Across the country, we continue to invest the time of our local conservation officers, planners and conservation scientists, and often myself, in scrutinising proposals and engaging with industry to try and get the best outcomes for wildlife. A check of our database shows we are currently engaged with 340 wind farm cases in Scotland alone. Experience tells us that wind farms, if sited away from sensitive areas, do not present serious conservation risks. We are also active in evaluating impacts post-construction at a number of sites. Sometimes we discover species seem unaffected by the turbines. In other cases a serious impact is observed, for example we have found that curlews and golden plover avoid sites after construction (see here and here). This science is helping inform our approach to assessing sites as the industry progresses.
Forthcoming research (watch this space) undertaken by RSPB to understand long-term implications for wildlife of continuing to deploy renewable energy, shows there is capacity for more onshore wind in all countries of the UK, including in Scotland. This is the case even if, as we hope, we completely avoid sensitive sites such as our designated site network, and areas home to vulnerable species like golden eagles, at risk of collision with turbines, or displacement from core ranges essential for nesting.
Strathy South is home to red-throated divers
Achieving this will take careful planning, and we need decision-makers to robustly protect our environment by rejecting sites where the impacts are too high. One such site is Strathy South, a 1980s conifer plantation on deep peat in the heart of the Flow Country in Sutherland, home to ‘skydancing’ hen harriers, red-throated divers and greenshank, all at risk if plans are consented. SSE’s proposal to build 39 turbines, 20 kilometres of tracks, and dig up 300,000 cubic metres of peat, is also at odds with the need to restore this area’s iconic peatlands, one of the biggest areas of blanket bog in the world, which is even up for consideration as a World Heritage site.
RSPB Scotland has fiercely resisted these proposals from the outset. We reluctantly accepted a few years ago that nearby Strathy North could be developed, but made it plain that Strathy South was a step far too far. Also objecting, alongside hundreds of concerned individuals, are The Highland Council, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Recently, the International Mire Conservation Group - the global network of peatland experts - also wrote an open letter to Scottish Ministers expressing their dismay at the proposals.
We are calling on the Scottish Government to protect Scotland’s amazing environment by rejecting this damaging proposal, which will undermine peatland restoration efforts, destroy rare birds, and jeopardise any hope of winning World Heritage Status. Put simply, this is just the wrong place for a large wind farm, and SSE are flying in the face of the wider public interest.
We need more renewable energy generation in Scotland, combined with big steps to reduce our energy demand, but we can, and must, transition to low carbon energy without sacrificing our special places for wildlife, and peatland resources of global significance.