March 2025
Written by Annie Zak, Ceredigion Branch Chair
DarkSky International congratulates Wales on its leadership in dark sky conservation
Wales has become one of the world’s premier destinations for stargazing. Astrotourism has become a buzzword in modern travel, attracting skilled and amateur astronomers keen to experience the starry heavens and celestial events in our pristine skies here.
How does that relate to the Welsh Government’s encouragement of foreign investors to install vast numbers of turbines in our rural landscapes? We have over 700 wind turbines in the planning system. All of them over 150m tall.
Last week, Nation published this news item: “Wales leads the UK in dark skies protection”
It was a press release for the Welsh Government’s ‘Good Practice Guidance: Planning for the Conservation and Enhancement of Dark Skies’, which features a foreword written by Rebecca Evans, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning for the Welsh Government.
Structures over 150m require aviation lighting. The Civil Aviation Authority’s policy statement¹ for onshore wind turbines requires aviation lights to be fitted to illuminate in all directions without interruption.
Rebecca Evans is the minister who has approved six wind farms since she took office last September.
In her foreword to the good practice guidance, she writes;
“Our connections to the night sky are ancient and Wales is incredibly fortunate to have the highest percentage of protected dark skies in the world. When star gazing, I am always struck by the awesomeness of the night sky and how it creates a tangible connection to generations past who observed and experienced the same sky.”
The planning guidance tells us that “Artificial Light At Night (ALAN) impacts the biodiversity and functioning of whole ecosystems, and therefore it is important to mitigate impacts on the most important sites (e.g. SSSIs) and the functional networks that support and connect them.”
- How do they plan to mitigate the obvious disadvantages of aviation lighting on onshore turbines?
- How do they plan to mitigate the less obvious disadvantages of light pollution on ecosystems outlined in the planning guidance?
- What do we stand to lose if they can’t achieve it?
Alyn takes 4 minutes to introduce this video. What follows is 5 minutes of glorious dark sky photography that speaks for itself. Do watch to the end and enjoy!
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