ECOLOGY: PEAT LANDSCAPES
FEATURE SPONSOR
Carbon VALUABLE HABITAT
Peat covers much of upland Scotland and, in addition to being a valuable habitat in its own right, has increasingly been recognised as a precious store of carbon, sequestered over many years through a complex process which converts moorland vegetation such as sphagnum moss into peat. with peat being a significant carbon store, it was unclear whether windfarms constructed on it would have a positive or negative impact on the climate, compared to other energy generation methods.
CARBON CALCULATOR TOOL The Scottish Government responded to these concerns by commissioning a team led by Aberdeen University to develop a carbon calculator tool to determine the ‘payback period’, which is the number of years it takes before the net carbon emissions associated with the construction and restoration of a wind farm development are recovered by the carbon saved by replacing fossil-fuel or grid-mix generated
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www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
accounting for windfarms
The complicated relationship between windfarms and carbon is one that has been debated for some time, but Scotland is tackling it in an innovative way to ensure that renewable energy options are still available without damaging valuable peatland habitats.
electricity with wind generated electricity. The results are a material consideration in planning applications.
The first version of the carbon calculator was launched in 2009 and since then all large windfarm developments on peat (> 50MW) are required to use the carbon calculator to assess the ‘payback period’.
THE SCOTTISH ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AGENCY (SEPA) SEPA was given the role of validating these calculations by the Scottish Government in April 2011. SEPA checks include ensuring developers have used the latest version of the calculator and the data is preferably backed up by field surveys, rather than a reliance on ‘default’ settings from other sites. The calculator continues to evolve and underwent significant enhancement in 2011. Further enhancements are still possible.
BETTER UNDERSTANDING Through the use of the carbon calculator, the greenhouse gas emissions associated with developments on peat soils are better understood. A considerable amount of knowledge has been gained about the impacts of developments on peat, and on forested peatland; and these impacts can be quantified.
The assessment process is assisting developers to adjust their proposals so as to minimise the impact on peatlands and hence on the climate. For example, micro- siting of turbines, infrastructure and borrow pits can be optimised so as to avoid pockets of deep peat.
The tool quantifies the carbon benefits associated with the restoration of sites after construction and during de-commissioning which incentivises commitment to site restoration plans at earlier stages of the development and at the end of its operational life.
A WIDER REMIT
Carbon is only one issue SEPA monitors in relation to windfarms. The agency is also a statutory consultee for all developments submitting an Environmental Impact Assessment. SEPA’s website contains many windfarm guidance documents written in partnership with Scottish renewables, Forestry Commission Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency
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