The chief executive of the Shannon Region Fisheries Board said yesterday there were no fish remaining in the spawning grounds affected by the landslide in the Stacks Mountains in north Kerry last weekend. ...However, the full effects of the landslide on the Smearlagh and Feale rivers may not be felt for five to 10 years, because of the migratory pattern of the life-cycle of the fish. ...Residents have called for a change in the county council development plan which has designated the Stacks area for wind farm development.

A company which began work on a wind farm on a mountain bog in north Kerry two weeks ago tonight said an independent investigation was being launched into the cause of a massive landslide which killed thousands of wild salmon and trout. Tra Investments Limited in Tralee said geological experts would assess what led to a two kilometre long slick flowing off the Stacks Mountains polluting the most important water supplies. ...Eamon Cusack, chief executive of Shannon Regional Fisheries Board, said: "All I can say is that we're following every lead and we're obviously looking at the windfarm as a possible source of the start of the landslide."

Hi-tech maps showing the country's landslide 'hot zones' were given the go-ahead just weeks before a 3km landslide cut off an entire community and led to fears of an "ecological disaster". ...The landslide, which has been put down to the record rainfall levels this month, occurred during construction work on a roadway to an electricity wind farm in the Magha/Kielduff area of Kerry, with its power sweeping away a bridge and imprisoning people in their homes.

Ireland's failure to insist on environmental impact assessments before major development projects are carried out will be scrutinised by the European Court of Justice on Thursday. The European Commission brought an action against Ireland in May 2006, claiming that the government had failed to comply with its obligations under the 1985 Impact Assessment Directive. ...The commission alleged that ‘‘particular deficiencies'' in relation to environmental impact assessments for a wind farm at Derrybrien, Co Galway, amounted to ‘‘a manifest breach of the directive''. Work began on the 60-megawatt windfarm in July 2003. About 90 per cent of the site roads on the 300-hectare site and half the bases of the 71 wind turbines had been completed when a landslide occurred on October 16, 2003. The landslide destroyed trees, fisheries and an empty house, and blocked two roads, but nobody was hurt.

The construction of giant wind turbines on deep peatland could damage the environment and add to global warming, according to a Euro Tory MP. Struan Stevenson said deep peatland was a natural global sink for CO2, having been formed over thousands of years by decaying plant matter in which carbon is stored. He said the development of windfarms on peatland requires first that the peat bogs are drained and this process releases vast quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere, negating the point of creating windfarms for years to come. Mr Stevenson said peat bogs in the UK, most of which are in Scotland, stored the equivalent of Britain's output of CO2 for the next 21 years.

THE COMPANY behind plans to build a massive windfarm in Shetland intends to wait until next summer before submitting a planning application to allow a second study of the islands' peatlands. Viking Energy had initially hoped to have already submitted its planning documents, but the huge number of responses to a public consultation scuppered the company's timetable. ...During the initial consultation in spring this year, many local residents were concerned about the amount of peat which would have to be cleared to erect up to 192 turbines, each measuring up to 145 metres in height. There were also worries that disturbing the sensitive peat habitat could pollute burns and inshore waters.

SILT run-off during the construction of a wind farm is believed to be the source responsible for the wiping out of valuable vegetation and a colossal decrease in wild Brown Trout fish stocks in one of Tyrone's hidden beauty spots. ...One source described the fish caught as "feeble and malnourished" and indicated that the "damage to the rare genetic strain was irreparable." Lough Lee has long been considered by angling tourists as one of the most unique freshwater fishing sites in Ireland or Britain. ...problems arose during the construction of the 9MW wind farm by leading company Airtricity, who was given planning permission to position turbines on the slope of Bin Mountain facing and in close proximity to the Lough.

Today, Britain’s peatland habitats are at the centre of a rather different wrangle. The drive towards cleaner energy alternatives to fossil fuels, backed by government, has jump-started the wind power industry. And many of the most suitable locations for wind farms in the British Isles happen to be on peat.

When the turbines go up, it’s not just the scenery that suffers, it's the atmosphere too. Ed Douglas reveals the environmental costs of wind power

The Wind Farms Awareness Group before the meeting. The encroachment of wind farms into Perthshire was again halted by councillors as another five proposed schemes were knocked back.