Is the answer really blowin' in the wind?

Renewable energy is a necessity as we aim for net-zero carbon emissions, but it comes at a cost to wildlife

- JAMES FAIR

STANDING ON A Sussex beach while galeforce winds create a maelstrom of waves threatening to inundate the low-lying land behind isn't the best time to argue against wind energy.

Wind, clearly, is an abundant and powerful force, and the swelling surf is a stark reminder that rising sea levels - caused by climate change - could create havoc for many parts of Britain's coastline, and increasingly are.

But campaigner Zoe Visram is undeterred. "Rampion 2 wind farm is going to cause tremendous harm to wildlife, with the cable [carrying the electricity] coming ashore here at Climping, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its vegetative shingle, sand dunes, and migratory birds," she says. "The trench for the underwater cable will impact marine life, including seahorses, black bream, and oyster and mussel beds."

Visram is leading efforts by local residents to stop Rampion 2, a development of between 75 and 116 wind turbines off the coast of Sussex, stretching some 50km from Newhaven to Selsey Bill. Modern wind turbines are enormous - those planned for Rampion 2 could reach 325m high, as tall as the Eiffel Tower, and will be clearly visible from the coast.

Two official bodies - Natural England and the South Downs National Park Authority - along with the RSPB, Sussex Wildlife Trust, and Sussex Ornithological Society, have expressed concerns about the potential impacts of Rampion 2. These range from seabirds and migrating songbirds colliding with the turbines to the disturbance caused by laying the underwater cable and then digging a 50m-wide cable route that winds 37km inland through the South Downs National Park.