Birdwatch Ireland fears birds may meet a grisly end in the turbines of a new €630 million wind farm project on the Arklow bank.
The organisation says that while offshore wind farms have the potential to make a major contribution to renewable energy production, there is a shortage of information on the impact on birds, including collision with turbines, disturbance and loss of habitat.
As offshore turbines may require lighting to meet safety regulations for navigation, this can increase the collision risk for night-time flying birds they say.
The organisation is seeking legal advice over the lease granted by the Minister for the Marine, Mr Fahey, to the wind farm project on the Arklow bank.
The lease for the 520 megawatt project was signed by the Minister and Dr Eddie O'Connor, managing director of Eirtricity, in Dublin last week.
However, Birdwatch Ireland says it was not consulted about a clause in the lease which involves it in the construction of a bird observation post.
In the lease, Eirtricity has agreed to give Birdwatch Ireland a "once-off payment" of €100,000 towards the construction and maintenance costs of an observation post, where ornithologists could monitor the effect of the wind turbines on bird life.
The Arklow bank has internationally important species of birds. However, there is no definitive information on the impact of the wind turbines on bird movements as there are only 20 offshore wind developments worldwide and all are fairly recent. An environmental impact statement was conducted as part of the planning application.
Birdwatch Ireland did not object to the Eirtricity project - billed as the world's largest, with 200 turbines - but says it did propose during the consultation phase that studies of the bird life and marine mammals in the area be carried out in advance of disturbance in the area. It also proposed that only half of the project be approved, subject to further environmental studies.
Mr Stephen Newton, senior conservation officer with Birdwatch Ireland, said the organisation did propose the erection of a fixed observation post - similar to a model tried in Denmark - but as part of an independent monitoring procedure. However, the lease does not allow for independent monitoring. Instead, it obliges the lessee to carry this out.
According to Birdwatch Ireland. "The first response to the platform suggestion was that there would be health and safety problems," Mr Newton says. "Paying Birdwatch Ireland half the costs of a platform without asking us in advance does seem very strange," he says.
