In September, members of our Ornithology, Ecology and MKO Research teams attended the 8th Conference on Wind Energy and Wildlife Impacts (CWW) in Montpellier, France. The international CWW began in 2011 in response to growing wind energy development in Europe to bring together researchers, conservationists and industry professionals to share knowledge, tools and best practices. The 8th conference in 2025 hosted the largest number of delegates to date and included research on nature inclusive design, offsetting and restoration, collision risk mitigation, adaptive management and emerging technologies, as well as the response of birds and bats to wind farms.
A special session was held on wind turbine blade patterning as a collision mitigation strategy. The state of knowledge from the original study at Smøla wind farm, Norway (which found a reduction in eagle collisions at turbines with one blade painted black), all the way to the present day was discussed. Research explored the effect of different pattern types (eg, stripes and check) and colour (e.g., black and red) on the number of collisions, as well as the effect of patterning on turbine operation and the reaction of the public.
The closing ceremony highlighted the wide range of solutions that have been designed to meet the challenges of wildlife and wind energy interactions. Importantly, these solutions need to be translated into implementation and tested at real-world wind farms. In Ireland, mitigation and enhancement measures are currently being conducted at several wind farms. Monitoring and assessing the results of these measures will further contribute to the knowledge shared at this conference.
The conference concluded with a field trip to the Camargue, a wetland in the Rhône delta. The Camargue is internationally recognised as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and supports vast numbers of birds migrating between Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean. It is particularly well known for its Greater Flamingos, where spectacular pink flocks congregate in the blue waters.