Climate action vs do no harm (at all, at all) – originally published in https://pai.ie/2025-editions/ Feb’25
The Dublin Array[i] recently (Feb’25) announced that it is applying for planning permission. Comprising of 39 to 50 x 310m high wind turbines, it will be capable of generating up to 824 megawatts (MW) of renewable electricity, or enough electricity to power up to 770,000 homes[ii] from the underwater sandbank known as the Kish Bank.
“About time!” many will say. Especially those from rural areas who have seen wind farms pop-up around their mountains, and I’d agree. I’ve long believed Dublin should lead by example and replace the 200m high Poolbeg towers with the largest possible wind turbine as a symbol of Ireland’s transition to energy independence and our low carbon future. Although I see now the defunct Poolbeg towers are set to become a protected structure[iii] and have just been repainted of all things.
The Kish bank is a biodiverse environment, one of many sandbanks along the Irish Sea. You can read more about our sand banks at https://www.npws.ie/marine/marine-habitats/sandbanks. Since its construction and sinking in 1965, the Kish lighthouse on the sandbank has become a nesting ground for birds and it forms an artificial reef for shellfish to feed those birds.
Offshore windfarms will disrupt wildlife during construction and kill sea birds during their lifetime. So why do I support the Dublin Array and want to see it generating power as soon as possible? Please note I have no connection to Dublin Array financial or otherwise.
Do no harm (at all, at all)
All human activity at sea harms marine life. As an island nation, we cannot help but to do damage to the marine environment; since the year 2000 Ireland has been a net importer of food[iv] and in 2023 78%[v] of our energy was imported, burning over €1m per hour of fossil fuel – most of which comes by sea on ships as petroleum products.
Our seas have absorbed over 90%[vi] of global warming to date. We are now seeing marine heatwaves along with more extreme winter storms many times more often.
How many more biodiverse species must follow cold water cod[vii] north, until all we have in our seas are warm water jelly fish?
With global warming now reported to be above the 1.5degC[viii] limit of the Paris agreement 2015 and a ‘climate emergency’ declared in 2019[ix] by the EU Parliament and many national and local governments, we must act urgently.
It is my belief that reducing CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels must come first. That’s why I think the Dublin Array and other renewables projects must be accelerated and built now.
Maybe we had time to endlessly consult twenty years ago, when Ireland built the world’s first offshore wind farm on the Arklow Bank[x], but we have sat on our hands ever since and now we don’t have time to waste.
My view is reflected in the Climate Act 2021 and recent judgements such as https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/high-court-rules-an-bord-pleanala-must-prioritise-climate-law-in-wind-farm-case-likely-to-affect-all-public-bodies/a294141249.html
“The judgement found that a wind farm was wrongly denied planning permission because the planners did not attach enough importance to the need for renewable energy as a climate action measure”
The comments from Mr Justice Humphreys in Coolglass Wind Farm project in Co Laois vs An Bord Pleanála 10th January 2025 are well worth a read (see link above). Some samples;
“What the inspector is saying ultimately is that it is “overwhelming” that visual impacts take priority over compliance with national and EU legally binding targets to address the climate emergency (which itself threatens landscapes here and globally with vastly more severe disturbance, desertification, sea level rise and so on),” Mr Justice Humphreys wrote.
“Only a lawyer would attempt to call that [ABP decision] rational. Someone else might say that it represents a deeply skewed set of values and an unwillingness to face new realities.”
“But an immediate end to business as usual is a precondition for planetary survival.”
Hard choices
Out at sea, no-one’s view is at stake and as the judgement above shows these views don’t count when the planet is at stake. There are issues with defence radar etc, but these are manageable.
Climate change will ultimately remove more wildlife habitat than any amount of wind turbines ever will. Wind turbines at sea provide clean reliable power, replacing fossil fuel imports and creating artificial reefs upon which marine life can thrive and sea birds can feed.
Some sea birds will be killed by the turbine blades, but if you really want to save birds your first move would be to ban cats (source https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/threats-birds ) – which lets be honest is not going to happen.
Ireland’s wind resource is the biggest in Europe[xi]. Europe wants our wind power in order to wean itself off of its dependence on Russia and other fossil fuel suppliers. The late Eddie O’Connor’s Supergrid[xii] proposal shows how Europe can move to 100% renewables and Ireland can be a leader and supporter in this.
I am writing this as an Al Gore Climate Reality Leader. To quote Al, “When the nightly news is like a scene from the book of revelations”, we must act.
With Russia’s fossil fuelled war on Europe in Ukraine now aided by the USA[xiii], we Irish as Europeans simply must move past our endless consultations and judicial reviews to build our renewables.
As Trump disrupts the wind and solar industries in the USA, we might take advantage of the furloughed engineers and manufacturing capacity and attract them to work in Ireland.
What can you do?
Form your own opinion about the Dublin Array here at their website https://dublinarray.com/
But please support grid reinforcement in your locality, whether this is pylons, road works or simply the rebuilding after Storm Eowyn, support Eirgrid, ESB Networks and all our agencies especially MARA (https://www.maritimeregulator.ie/ ).
If friends and neighbours fear biodiversity loss, please highlight the impacts of increased temperatures on our landscape and seascape from more frequent, more extreme weather events on our wildlife and their habitats.
But most of all please promote Ireland’s journey to climate neutrality as embodied in the Climate Act 2021 and ensure that your employer provides its public services in a manner consistent with climate neutrality by 2050 as required by law.
Thank you for reading.
Sources and links
[i] Home page for Dublin Array https://dublinarray.com/
[ii] Irish Times 26th Feb 25 https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2025/02/26/2bn-dublin-bay-wind-energy-project-to-submit-planning-application/
[iii] Ciaran Cuffe on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ciarancuffe_the-pigeon-house-chimneys-caught-my-eye-as-activity-7281382496481546241-DgKs/
[iv] Since the year 2000 Ireland has been a net importer of food https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/ireland-has-been-net-importer-of-food-since-2000-un-data-reveals/ you can see the latest stats by type of food etc at CSO https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-ti/irelandstradeingoods2020/food/
[v] SEAI Energy Imports https://www.seai.ie/data-and-insights/seai-statistics/annual-energy-data/energy-supply/imports
[vi] NOAA https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-ocean-heat-content reproducing some here as it may be deleted soon
[vii] Ocean warming has caused ‘sustainable’ fish stocks to drop by 4% since 1930s
https://www.carbonbrief.org/ocean-warming-has-caused-sustainable-fish-stocks-to-drop-by-4-since-1930s/ “Damage to harvests has been particularly severe around the UK in the North and Irish seas, the data shows, where the maximum sustainable yield has dropped by up to 35%. Fish particularly affected in the North Sea include Atlantic cod, sole and haddock.”
[viii] EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service via Global temperatures passed critical 1.5°C milestone for the first time in 2024 – new report January 10, 2025 https://theconversation.com/global-temperatures-passed-critical-1-5-c-milestone-for-the-first-time-in-2024-new-report-246821
[ix] The European Parliament declares climate emergency 29th November 2019 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20191121IPR67110/the-european-parliament-declares-climate-emergency
[x] Arklow Bank windfarm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arklow_Bank_Wind_Park
[xi] https://www.seai.ie/renewable-energy/wind-energy
[xii] A super grid for Europe is the last piece in jigsaw to decarbonise Europe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperSmart_Grid
[xiii] https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2025/02/24/europeans-win-in-un-clash-with-us-over-rival-ukraine-resolutions/