February 18, 2021
Ireland

Wind farm in Nagle Mountains ‘threatens survival’ of hen harriers

Brian Mahon | The Times | Wednesday February 17 2021 | www.thetimes.co.uk

A proposed 22-turbine wind farm in a Cork mountain range known as an “important breeding area” for hen harriers would threaten the birds’ existence, a conservation group has said.

The Nagle Mountains supports the equivalent of up to 8 per cent of the species’ estimated breeding population in Ireland. A 2015 study estimated there were up to 157 breeding pairs of the bird, a “strictly protected species” under EU law, in Ireland.

Coom Green Energy Park submitted a planning application for the wind farm directly to An Bord Pleanála as a “strategic infrastructure development” last December.

The Irish Raptor Study Group (IRSP), which carries out monitoring and research on raptors and owls, submitted a “strong objection” to the proposed development last week. It said the

[rest of article available at source]

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2021/02/18/wind-farm-in-nagle-mountains-threatens-survival-of-hen-harriers/