In 2020, Ireland’s ~305 wind farms supplied 37% of Ireland’s total electricity demand. Renewable electricity supply is set to rise to 70% by 2030 as new wind and solar farms are built. This expansion will help us to reduce our reliance on environmentally harmful fossil fuels and meet our climate change targets.

Nature+Energy was founded on the idea that wind farms have the potential to provide so much more than renewable energy. If managed properly, the biodiversity on onshore wind farms has the potential to take additional carbon out of the atmosphere, to improve the resilience of ecosystems to climate change and to enhance the provision of ecosystem services, such as pollination, water filtration and habitat provision.

There is much potential to enhance nature’s contributions to people through improving our understanding of how habitat quality, diversity and connectivity can be enhanced by wind farm land-management for conservation.

Given the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, solutions to one must not cause negative impacts on the other. 

Wind farm operators can put in place protection, management and mitigation for biodiversity that would not exist without funding from the operation of the wind farm, however, this must be done under a right action, right place, right time approach.

2021 - 2026

Nature+Energy developed new ways of accounting for the value of nature on onshore wind farms. The research team designed a state-of-the-art environmental monitoring system that will revolutionise how we measure and monitor biodiversity on wind farms. The team developed sector-specific Natural Capital Accounts, Decision Support Tools and Biodiversity Action Plans to facilitate the enhancement of biodiversity and to mitigate the effects of wind farms on key species.

By focusing on solutions for overcoming the twin problems of climate change and biodiversity loss, this project gave the project team the opportunity to showcase how researchers and industry can work together to develop genuine win-win scenarios for the economy, society and the environment.

Following the completion of the research project, the below research objectives were acheived: 

• Develop a Smart Environmental Monitoring System for Irish wind farms.

• Ecosystem Accounts for onshore wind farms.
  
  

• Sectoral Biodiversity Guidelines and Site-specific Biodiversity Action Plans.
  
  

• Demonstrator site to co-design a biodiversity park within a wind farm with the local community.

On conclusion of the Nature+Energy project, the following key findings were identified:

• Stakeholder collaboration enables robust tools.
  
  

• Wind farms can enhance biodiversity with informed decision-making.
  
  

• Adaptive management optimises long-term success.

We are currently developing a Phase 2 of Nature+Energy, if you are interested in getting involved please contact Ian Donohue (Trinity College Dublin). 

Email: ian.donohue@tcd.ie