The turbine versus birds debate is still raging on.
We want to use wind power to fight climate change, yet environmentalists are up in arms about bird strikes. It’s a real threat to birdlife, but climate change is a threat to the whole planet.
At one wind farm in Ireland, it’s a whole different story, and it’s not about birds.
A conservation phenomenon is happening at ground level.
Which endangered species has decided to make an industrial wind farm its home?
How an Irish wind farm is delivering extra benefits at ground level
The issue of bird mortalities linked to spinning turbine blades has been around for as long as the technology has. It’s a classic environmental paradox, because how can green energy save the Earth if it harms its creatures?
Birds are by far the animals most at risk of harm. Massive turbine blades are a major danger to anything in the way of the spinning motion.
It’s virtually a given that local wildlife will be disturbed by a wind power plant.
It’s different at the Teiges Mountain Wind Farm in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. This installation is operated by the Energia Group and is actively producing power as planned.
But another victory emerged that had nothing to do with birds and was all about another threatened winged creature.
While conservationists tend to look to the skies for bird impacts, the breakthrough at this site was on the ground.
Officers noticed a trend in the ground vegetation, where a fragile resident was quietly settled in. Which endangered species is being saved by the turbine microhabitat?
A strict plan and a will to make a difference
Protecting wildlife takes a lot of work, especially species that are threatened from many directions.
The management of the Teiges farm had wildlife priorities from the early days, and they proved this with a strict habitat management and enhancement plan.
What turned out to be important in this case was grass height. Cattle grazing strategies were implemented precisely to keep the vegetation at ideal levels.
It was a delicate arrangement, seeing as either under- or over-grazing could disrupt the ecosystem.
There was another focus in the form of global goals. The project supports 14 of the 17 vital United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The company has also teamed up with the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan and Trinity College. Their focus is rewetting peatlands, planting native hedgerows, and building bird boxes.
There’s a key to the strict grazing rules, with a specific target species that has already lost most of its home.
In the past, it thrived in 58 regional locations. Now, there are only eight places where it’s found.
Which fragile creature sees this grassland as a sanctuary?
Saving Ireland’s only legally protected insect
The strict ground grazing rules on the ground are saving a remarkable resident, says the Energia Group.
The Teiges Mountain Wind Farm became a fortress for the marsh fritillary butterfly. This species is officially listed as vulnerable to extinction on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.
In fact, it is Ireland’s only insect protected by law.
Eye-opening conservation data
In May 2024, researchers conducted a comprehensive wildlife count at the site. They discovered just under 1,000 marsh fritillary butterfly breeding webs in the managed grass.
This is an incredible 300% population increase since it was measured in 2022.
This operational farm now hosts one of the highest colony counts for the butterfly in the entire region.
The considerate land management turned an industrial power plant into a functioning nature reserve.
By keeping the ground vegetation in perfect condition, clean energy and intensive species conservation are managing to co-exist in the same footprint.
How many other green energy projects could double as wildlife sanctuaries if we pay closer attention to the ground beneath our feet?