Balancing Wind Energy and Biodiversity – Wind Energy Ireland’s policy forum

On 2nd December, Wind Energy Ireland hosted its last Policy Forum of the year at the Radisson Blu Hotel, in Dublin, bringing together experts from across the wind energy, legal, ecological and academic sectors. The event - “Balancing Wind Energy and Biodiversity: Navigating the Habitats Directive, Article 6(4) Derogations and Nature Positive Solutions,”  was sponsored by Green Tech Skillnet and explored how the sector can deliver on the State’s renewable energy targets while at the same time protecting biodiversity and contributing to ecological enhancement. 

The morning opened with an introduction from John Willoughby, Policy Manager at WEI, who outlined some of the work WEI has been doing in this area and the purpose of the event - which was to share best practice and  lessons learned focusing on the Habitats Directive, Article 6(4) derogations and nature positive solutions. 

This was followed by a welcome address from Brian Keville, Managing Director at MKO and chair of WEI’s Planning Committee, who MC’d the event. The Policy Forum was very well attended with over 65 people filling the Swift suite at the Raddison. We had a great lineup of expert speakers and insightful discussions throughout the day. 

The first presentation of the day came from Crystal Leiker, Senior Project Manager at Statkraft, who joined online to discuss the challenges and opportunities involved in extending the life of a wind farm located within a Special Protection Area.  

Kat Route-Stephens, Head of Environment & Consents (Renewable UK), also speaking online, presented on the UK’s offshore wind consenting journey and the role of derogations. Kat shared some really insightful lessons from the UK’s experience implementing Article 6(4) derogations and strategic compensation. 

Brendan Slattery, Partner at McCann Fitzgerald, delivered a legal perspective on how Article 6(4) is interpreted and applied within the Irish planning and environmental law system. 

This was followed by Paul Scott, Head of the Ecological Guidance and Advisory Unit at NPWS, who provided a detailed overview of the Article 6(4) derogation process from the view of the NPWS, outlining current expectations, challenges and advice for developers. 

The final presentation of the day focused on the opportunity for wind energy to contribute to biodiversity enhancement. Ruth Brennan from the Nature + Energy Project at Trinity College Dublin shared their work on co-developing biodiversity guidelines for the onshore wind energy industry. Their research aims to help wind energy developments contribute positively with a standardised approach to ecological restoration. 

A second panel discussion, chaired again by Brian Keville, brought together Brendan Slattery, Paul Scott, Emma King, and Ruth Brennan who took questions from the audience covering the topics on industry engagement with the NPWS, practical implementation of compensation measures and funding. 

Some key takeaways from the forum include how the wind energy industry has an opportunity to go beyond minimum compliance with biodiversity requirements and to contribute significantly to biodiversity enhancement in line with national nature restoration targets, to strengthen engagement with state agencies such as the NPWS and to further explore practical implementation of strategic ecological compensation. 

Policy Fora are available for member organisations of WEI. Keep an eye out on the Events page for dates and topics of upcoming events.  

Slides from the presenters are available in the Members area of the Wind Energy Ireland website.