23/08/2026
The presence of wind turbines across our hills and uplands is a topic that always gets people talking.
From a photographer's perspective, they completely transform the landscape—stark, modern giant forms contrasting with the soft, wild countryside. But from a purely practical standpoint, the access roads built to service them have opened up parts of the landscape that were once boggy, rough, and almost impossible to trek through, giving us elevated vantage points we never had before.
It does make you wonder about the environmental balance sheet. With hundreds of tonnes of concrete poured for foundations, heavy steel towers, and complex transport logs, how "green" are they really?
Life-cycle analysis studies show that most modern onshore turbines actually pay back the energy used to manufacture, transport, and install them within 3 to 7 months of operation. Even when accounting for total carbon emissions—including the concrete bases—a turbine typically offsets its entire cradle-to-grave carbon footprint in roughly 1 to 2 years of running. Over a 20 to 25-year lifespan, that leaves roughly two decades of zero-carbon energy generation.
Still, the visual impact on our traditional Irish hills and the local land disruption during construction remain a very real conversation.
I’d love to know what you think. Do you see them as a welcome addition to our changing landscape and a necessary step forward, or do you feel they take away from the natural beauty of the countryside? Drop your thoughts in the comments below! 👇
