Sammy Wilson: The Sperrin Mountains have become 'industrialised' by wind turbines
Wind turbines have "industrialised" a UK mountain range, an MP has alleged in an exchange about GB Energy's impacts on nature.
Sammy Wilson, the DUP MP for East Antrim, was speaking about the Sperrin Mountains in Co Tyrone and Londonderry during the debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
He said: "It's been industrialised. I took a motorbike journey around there three weeks ago – it's been industrialised with huge wind turbines, hundreds of wind turbines digging up the peat, destroying the landscape and killing thousands of birds every year."
He had earlier said: "If nature recovery is to be important in the drive which the Government has at present, does (Green Party MP Sian Berry) accept that first of all, renewable energy itself has been destructive of nature – 17 million trees in Scotland cut down to facilitate windmills, now studies indicating that offshore wind is actually leading to dead porpoises, dead dolphins, and dead whales being washed up on beaches because of the effects of drilling?"
Mr Wilson intervened during Ms Berry's speech after the Green Party proposed a "Nature Recovery Duty" clause in the Government's GB Energy Bill.
GB Energy is a planned UK governmental body / publicly-owned energy company that the Labour Party plans to bring into being with its bill.
The idea is that the body would invest in renewable energy and own and operate clean power projects.
Ms Berry replied: "I don't agree with all of the assertions that were made there but also this duty is intended precisely to ensure that every single project ... would have a positive impact on nature."
The MP for Brighton Pavilion said a duty to incorporate nature-based solutions in its decisions would "help GB Energy invest only in projects that deliver significant biodiversity benefits, meeting Environment Act targets by building nature-friendly design features into renewable energy projects, and creating and restoring habitats on development sites in and around clean energy infrastructure".
The Environment Act of 2021 was designed to improve air and water quality and increase recycling.