The RSPB have carried out a huge amount of research into the effects of wind farms on bird populations in the past few years. Although their stance was originally that on-shore wind farms were bad in general, they have now started to embrace the possibility of erecting turbines on specific sites.
Last month, the conservation charity started talks with the government to increase the speed at which on-shore wind farms are developed and to plot out a wildlife sensitivity map to enable wind farm developers to site their turbines in areas that will do the least damage to bird populations.
Further to these plans, showing that the RSPB are concentrating on climate change, they have built their very own turbine at Rainham Marshes visitor centre in Purfleet. This will supplement the energy provided by the solar panels that are already installed there. Together this should provide all the energy that the centre needs throughout the year, reducing their carbon footprint by around 9 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Nick Bruce-White, the manager at the RSPB centre had this to say:
“The RSPB is often most visual when objecting to wind turbine proposals, however, wind power has a valuable role to play in contributing towards the UK’s renewable energy needs, and can do so without harming wildlife. The wind turbine at Rainham Marshes is an excellent example of this.”
Other items you might find of interest:
- RSPB Encourages Wildlife Lovers To ‘Make Your Nature Count’
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- Vestas Workers Lose The Battle To Keep Wind Turbine Factory Open
Tags: birds, on-shore wind farm, RSPB, wind farm