July 2008

Scottish Renewables has welcomed new government research which shows that the carbon payback for constructing wind farms on peatlands can be under three years (1). The green energy trade body has responded saying that this research ‘blows away’ the myth that wind farms cannot be constructed in peatland areas without causing massive release of carbon and has condemned calls for a moratorium of wind farms on peatland areas as ‘misguided and blocking effective action on climate change’.

The report published on Friday identifies a model for the assessment of carbon savings from wind farms constructed on peat soils. The report shows that if good practice guidelines are followed then the carbon saved from wind farms displacing fossil fuels in the electricity generating mix will overtake carbon lost from peat soil disruption and the carbon costs of the materials used in construction within three years. Scottish Renewables response comes as the Scottish Government launches a consultation into its first ever soils strategy today.

The report was produced by The Macaulay Institute and Aberdeen University for the Scottish Government and involved a stakeholder group representing peatland conservation and environmental NGOs, SNH, the energy industry and local government.

Jason Ormiston Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables said, “Scotland’s wind industry is acutely aware of the need to tackle climate change and protect precious peatland habitats from destruction. This research shows that by using good practice then we can responsibly develop on peat soils and still slash the emissions that cause climate change. Calls for a blanket moratorium on all peatland areas have now been shown to be misguided and are blocking effective action on climate change. It’s time to move away from the myths that perpetuate the debate around wind farms and continue the dialogue with real environmentalists about how, not if we should develop wind farms on peatland areas.”

He added, “The wind industry has an excellent record in Scotland and has shown itself adept at building good wind farms in the right places, this includes a number of wind farms on and around areas of peat. We will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure that this record is maintained and that issues around biodiversity and peat are addressed.”