Cair Vie Resistance is calling for an immediate halt to Manx Utilities proposed onshore windfarm, Cair Vie.
It’s plea follows a French court ruling that underscores the risks industrial turbines pose to birdlife — particularly during nesting and migration seasons.
Recently in Montpellier, France, EDF Renouvelables and nine subsidiaries were found guilty of causing the deaths of 160 protected birds and bats at their Aumelas wind farm.
The group claims the deaths included the lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni), a close cousin of the common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) found on the Isle of Man.
Death of Birds
The court imposed €500,000 in fines per company, ordered a four-month shutdown of the turbines during the breeding season, and handed a six-month suspended prison sentence to EDF Renewables’ former CEO.
A spokesperson for Cair Vie Resistance said:
“This case proves what conservationists have been warning for years — that turbines can have fatal consequences for vulnerable species.”
“There are already breeding kestrels present at the Cair Vie site along with many other red listed and Schedule 1 birds, and this must trigger a complete re-evaluation of the project.”
Halt Plans
The group is calling on the MUA and the Isle of Man Government to immediately suspend all plans and preparatory work on the Cair Vie wind power station and reassess projected energy output.
Cair Vie Resistance claims that if the turbines must be shut down for several months each year the reliability and environmental viability of MUA’s energy projections “will be fundamentally undermined”.
A spokesperson for the group said: “This isn’t just about one bird species. The south of the Isle of Man lies on key migratory routes for many birds.
“It lies within a Birdlife International ‘Important Bird Area’ of global significance for Hen Harrier and Chough – in addition Kestrel, Merlin, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Long-eared Owl, Barn Owl, Crossbill, Curlew, Skylark, Jack Snipe, Snipe, Woodcock, Grasshopper Warbler are all Schedule 1 birds who frequent the area.
“Building a wind farm here could spell disaster for biodiversity — and embarrassment for the island if we repeat the mistakes now being punished elsewhere in Europe,” the spokesperson added.
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