Most Irish windfarms built on blanket bog-official

[GreenIsGood]

Here is the Blanket Bog Conservation Status Assessment Report (2008) from the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

http://www.npws.ie/en/media/Media,6255,en.pdf

Appendix IV discusses the distribution of wind farms relative to blanket bog. It concludes:

Thus, overall 39 wind of 56 farms are located in areas corresponding to blanket bog.

That's 70% built in blanket bog habitats-70%. Some of the worst examples are of course in Donegal:

The following are some of the examples of specific wind farms that are likely to be threatening blanket bog: Two
wind farms were erected on relative intact blanket bog, according to the 2000 aerial photographs, adjacent to SAC
2301 “River Finn” (Co. Donegal). Another wind farm was built on blanket bog adjacent to Fawnboy Bog (SAC
140) also in Donegal.

The large 71MW wind farm at Meentycat, Donegal is also built on active blanket bog. (Table IV.1)

Most educated people know that building wind farms in blanket bogs is a bad thing. NPWS confirm on p 14 that such wind farms are major CO2 emitters.

Furthermore by building on blanket bog (massive carbon stores) greenhouse gases are released to the atmosphere by
direct degradation (excavation and removal of bog vegetation and peat, erosion or peat slides) or by disruption of bog
hydrology and capacity to form peat /store carbon). Thus, by impacting on carbon dynamics in peat soils in this way the
construction of wind farms on blanket bog is likely to release greenhouse gases and impair the carbon sequestering
function of the bog by impairing or causing the cessation of peat-formation.

NPWS (p 34) also point out the large number of landslides caused by construction of wind farms in unstable mountain bogs:

Landslides and or peat slides have occurred during construction of several windfarms including Derrrybrien,
Moneenatieve, Kilronan and Sonnagh Old. (As reporting of slides is not mandatory this is a not a comprehensive
record of recent landslide occurrences).

At least two more large landslides have occurred at the end of 2008. Massive amounts of CO2 is emitted as displaced organic matter oxidises.

Can anyone name another country which builds most of it's wind farms on blanket bogs? Can anyone name a country whose wind industry has caused as many bogslides?

No? Didn't think so.

 

[energy]

A report commissioned for the Derrybrien incident http://www.uel.ac.uk/erg/documents/Derrybrien.pdf highlighted serious issues with the Environmental Impact Assessment for the project.

Looks like wind developers in Ireland (with the support of SirCharles & Co.) can simply ignore the rules when it comes to protecting the environment.

7 The EIA and the Derrybrien planning process

7.1 There is immediate confusion about these documents because at least one of them should have been part of a statutory Environmental Impact Assessment but claimed to be produced on a voluntary basis. Part of the development appears not to have been formally assessed at all even though it was at the time one of the largest wind farm developments in Europe.

7.2 There are real concerns that the development has been enabled by the technique of ‘salami slicing’ whereby a large project is introduced in stages to make it seem smaller or to evade legal thresholds.

7.3 The EIA documents make it clear that they were produced to demonstrate the low environmental impact of wind warm developments. This is not consistent with the objective assessment of the facts.

7.4 There is no genuine scoping phase in the EIA reports and this is reflected in a superficial approach adopted towards many topics.

7.5 Only noise and visual impacts are addressed in any detail. All other topics touch on only a small proportion of the issues, are supported by very little data or information from the published literature and fail to address even some of the most basic impact questions. For example, there is no recognition anywhere that peat soils can be unstable and that plantation forestry can make them even more so.

7.6 A clear contrast is made between the type of information provided in the EIA reports and what would normally be required for a standard Slope Stability Report as required in the UK for potentially unstable ground.

 

[lostexpectation]

bad planning will never happen again /gormley!

 

[energy]

http://www.windfarmcivils.ie/db/Attachments/Downloads/Wind Farm Civils Ltd Brochure.pdf

At Wind Farm Civils we pride ourselves on having the experience and ability to construct site access roads in all types of ground conditions. We have built roads in many challenging locations, especially in deep peat bogs, in which many of the wind farms in Ireland and the UK are constructed. We have built several kilometres of floating roads in deep bog environment to date that are strong enough to withstand the passing of 500T and 750T mobile cranes used to erect the turbine. The roads are tested by independent geotechnical engineers in advance of the arrival of heavy cranage.

 

[Malbekh]

Can anyone name another country which builds most of it's wind farms on blanket bogs? Can anyone name a country whose wind industry has caused as many bogslides?

No? Didn't think so.

Nope, but then no other country continues to use peat as a primary source of fuel. I recall a French visitor to this country on secondment to the ESB at the Shannonbridge plant commenting 'I don't understand zis, you are burning soil? Are you mad?'

 

[energy]

Scientists agree placing wind farms on peatland is 'disastrous' - Scotsman.com News

Peatland is a natural carbon-storage system and about a sixth of the planet's total is in Scotland. Professor Joseph Holden, of the University of Leeds, who is a specialist in wetland environments and carbon processes, told the seminar that extensive infrastructure would dry out vast areas of peatland.

When peatland dries out it loses carbon – a process that is irreversible. Mr Stevenson thinks it is ridiculous to destroy such an important resource, while at the same time there are huge amounts of research are going into creating artificial storage systems for carbon.

"Scotland, despite only having a 60th of the world's land mass, has one-sixth of the total peat bogs. Peat bogs are Europe's rainforests," he said.

"The evidence we heard at the seminar makes it quite clear that by allowing this development we wreck the peat bog and irreversibly destroy its capability of acting as a carbon sink.

 

[goosebump]

Here is the Blanket Bog Conservation Status Assessment Report (2008) from the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

http://www.npws.ie/en/media/Media,6255,en.pdf

Appendix IV discusses the distribution of wind farms relative to blanket bog. It concludes:



That's 70% built in blanket bog habitats-70%. Some of the worst examples are of course in Donegal:


The large 71MW wind farm at Meentycat, Donegal is also built on active blanket bog. (Table IV.1)

Most educated people know that building wind farms in blanket bogs is a bad thing. NPWS confirm on p 14 that such wind farms are major CO2 emitters.



NPWS (p 34) also point out the large number of landslides caused by construction of wind farms in unstable mountain bogs:



At least two more large landslides have occurred at the end of 2008. Massive amounts of CO2 is emitted as displaced organic matter oxidises.

Can anyone name another country which builds most of it's wind farms on blanket bogs? Can anyone name a country whose wind industry has caused as many bogslides?

No? Didn't think so.

They're built on the upland bogs because we have so many fukking nimbies knocking around the place, and so many politicians willing to support them.

In other countries, they're build along motorways and on coastal cliffs. Not here. We're too precious to have to live near our source of energy.

ShannonSide Site - News Details

Objectors to giant wind farm win landmark planning battle - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie

Politicians unite in opposition to Gaybrook windfarm - Mullingar Advertiser - August 13, 2010.

 

[charley]

http://maps.google.ie/maps?ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=54.887596,-7.835024&spn=0,0.002631&z=19&layer=c&cbll=54.887596,-7.835024&panoid=qm_LvihKaOUeuoOy7o5CcA&cbp=12,131.09,,0,5
Meentycat is 3miles outside Letterkenny and the bog up there would be shallow or in some cases cut out years ago. The first turbines must be up nearly 15years now and there have been no landslides as it isn't very steep.I'm no defender of windfarms but bogs in Donegal aren't deep ,lucky if you get 5 feet most places. And as for goosewipe saying there are none near the coast.
http://maps.google.ie/maps?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wl

Google street view ,how do you get it to paste?

 

[lostexpectation]

no excuse for bad planning goose, charley, click the link on the top right and copy and paste that lets see some coastal windfarms in streetview

 

[Telemachus]

Most educated people know that building wind farms in blanket bogs is a bad thing

I doubt that.

 

[charley]

http://maps.google.ie/maps?ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=55.066429,-8.288517&spn=0,0.002631&z=19&layer=c&cbll=55.066159,-8.288847&panoid=-GoUqkVT3iMNWtySc2FsUA&cbp=12,103.63,,1,-2.95
Meenderrygamph,Gweedore . 8 turbines on a hillside less than a mile inland

 

[goosebump]

Google Maps
Meenderrygamph,Gweedore . 8 turbines on a hillside less than a mile inland

1 mile inland, and up a mountain, isn't 'coastal'.

This is:

 

[GreenIsGood]

They're built on the upland bogs because we have so many fukking nimbies knocking around the place, and so many politicians willing to support them.

Ridiculous. Greedy "green" energy developers target these places. Government ensures they are highly rewarded for doing so. And they tell you they are saving the planet.

It's the fault of a corrupt and venal elite who shun reality and facts. It's the fault of messianic and scientifically illiterate policies. It's the fault of a failed regulatory and political system.

Promoted, aided and abetted by the Irish Green Party.

 

[charley]

1 mile inland, and up a mountain, isn't 'coastal'.

This is:

Google Maps

Close enough to the water for you, and oh look there's houses as well !

 

[GreenIsGood]

Nope, but then no other country continues to use peat as a primary source of fuel. I recall a French visitor to this country on secondment to the ESB at the Shannonbridge plant commenting 'I don't understand zis, you are burning soil? Are you mad?'

Isn't it interesting how the purpose of the recent hike in electricity prices is to subsidise peat burning and wind power? Two activities responsible for destroying peat bogs and causing large uncontrolled CO2 emissions?

Our execrable Green/FF government claim to be concerned about AGW. They know all about the CO2 emissions when bogs are drained. Yet they do nothing because they are .. eh... supporters of the wind industry.

[Of course there are a few isolated lunatics like SirCharleton, who actually deny that peat bogs are rich carbon stores. But we don't need to pay heed to filthy liars.]

 

[dresden8]

Isn't it interesting how the purpose of the recent hike in electricity prices is to subsidise peat burning and wind power? Two activities responsible for destroying peat bogs and causing large uncontrolled CO2 emissions?

Our execrable Green/FF government claim to be concerned about AGW. They know all about the CO2 emissions when bogs are drained. Yet they do nothing because they are .. eh... supporters of the wind industry.

[Of course there are a few isolated lunatics like SirCharleton, who actually deny that peat bogs are rich carbon stores. But we don't need to pay heed to filthy liars.]

That price increase protects jobs near where a certain Taoiseach lives. Totally unrelated of course.