Wind farms or peat bogs: Scotland's green dilemma

POETS and scientists alike have sung its praises. The vast swathe of peatland that covers much of Lewis is held in high regard for its environmental qualities and the rich wildlife it sustains.

Scotland's vast expanses of peat bogs are regarded as our equivalent of the rainforests, and 17 per cent of the world's "blanket bog" is in this country. In all, Scottish peatlands cover some 1.9 million hectares and contain about two billion tons of carbon – roughly four times the UK's annual output – as well as "sucking in" carbon from the atmosphere.

But the wild land on Lewis could be turned into an industrial landscape if the building of 176 turbines is granted approval, and other vital peatlands face the same fate.

Campaigners against the proposal say building a renewable energy facility on an area of peatland is a massive contradiction, as it will release the very carbon dioxide that renewables are meant to reduce.

The Scottish Government has said it is "minded to refuse" the £500 million project but has yet to make a final decision. If it does go ahead, thousands of tonnes of peat would be excavated from the moor and huge amounts of concrete and aggregates poured into the ground to accommodate the foundations, roads and sub-stations.

The effect on the peatland, which has been built up over thousands of years, is a growing concern, not just on Lewis but in other parts of Scotland under pressure from the renewables race.

Last week, the Scottish Government approved an application for a 35-turbine development at Gordonbush, on the edge of the Caithness and Sutherland Peatlands Special Protection Area, despite local and national objections.

With dozens of applications either approved or awaiting a decision, a campaign is being stepped up for a moratorium on erecting wind farms on peatlands. Today, a meeting in the European Parliament in Brussels will hear of the damage that can be done to such land by the building of turbines and surrounding infrastructure. It has been arranged by Scottish MEP Struan Stevenson, who said peat bogs formed a crucial part of the world's "air-conditioning system".

He said: "Peatlands and wetland ecosystems accumulate plant material under saturated conditions to form layers of peat soil up to 20 metres thick – storing on average ten times more carbon per hectare than other ecosystems.

"In the headlong rush to cut carbon emissions, the EU and the UK government are throwing money into renewable energy without any coherent planning strategy to determine where wind farms should and shouldn't be built.

"The result is there are dozens of outstanding planning applications to build giant turbines on blanket peat bog in Scotland, causing immense damage to the environment and releasing vast quantities of – in other words, achieving the exact opposite of what was intended.

"The first thing a contractor does before constructing giant wind turbines, access roads, pylons and associated infrastructure on peatland is to drain the area, thus releasing all of the stored into the atmosphere. The peatland is also subsequently destroyed as a carbon sump, stopping any further carbon storage.

"Damage to peat can extend as much as 250 metres on either side of any excavation, so the peat will gradually dry out over the years, resulting in an ongoing release of carbon.

"The whole hydrology of the area will change forever and once damaged, peat can never be replaced. By destroying peat bogs in this way, these wind farms would create more carbon emissions than they would ever save." At today's seminar will be Sutherland residents who objected to the Gordonbush plan. Victoria Reeves, of the Landscape action group, said: "In other parts of the UK, people are trying to restore their peatlands because, as they gradually deteriorate, they are no longer able to absorb from the atmosphere and are also releasing it into the atmosphere, so you have a double whammy."

The John Muir Trust is commissioning new research on the effect of carbon releases from peatland. Helen McDade, its policy officer, said: "It's clear the science on this is not well established. One of the key things on carbon emissions from disturbed peat is how much of a peat bog is disturbed if a (wind-farm] scheme goes ahead. Until that is clear, it would be foolhardy to carry on."

Clifton Bain, climate change policy officer with the RSPB, said the effect on peatland depended on the location and size of development.

He said: "You avoid the most important, best condition peatland – these are places you just cannot replace. After that, it may be possible to design a wind farm in such a way that it reduces the carbon, but you have to think what effect it will have on the wildlife. This is a habitat that supports incredibly important bird populations. We have been calling for a long time for guidelines to help steer wind-farm developments away from these important habitats."

According to the Scottish Government, blanket bog is the most widespread peatland type in Scotland, particularly in the uplands, and is the one most commonly affected by electricity-generation developments.

A spokesman said: "We recognise the role peatlands play in storing carbon. Maintaining and enhancing carbon stores will play an important role in our overall approach to tackling climate change."

Jason Ormiston, the chief executive of Scottish Renewables, the green- energy trade body, said: "Struan Stevenson pitches a theory that has at its heart a fatally flawed premise and chooses to ignore experience of existing wind-farm development on areas of peat, where not only have the projects proved significant cutters of carbon emissions but have involved habitat restoration with a net gain of peatland in and around the site."

RAF HALTS BOMBING

The RAF is to halt bombing on one of its ranges to allow the restoration of a 10,000-year-old landscape which is home to some of England's rarest plants.

The 12,000-acre Spadeadam Forest, close to the Cumbria-Northumberland border, features many important peat bogs which were formed as the last Ice Age ended.

The forest, close to Hadrian's Wall, will lose 145,000 trees over 200 acres, to revitalise the wetlands, which are part of the wider Border Mires which stretch across the country.

The area is mostly managed by the Forestry Commission, and 80 per cent of it is run by the RAF as an "electronic warfare tactics facility".

The RAF has backed the rejuvenation programme and it suspended low-level bombing exercises to allow timber to be removed.

The work will mean a boost for vegetation like bog asphodel, sphagnum mosses, sundews and many insects.

One of England's rarest trees, the tiny dwarf birch which is normally only found in much colder climates, is still found at Spadeadam.

Tom Dearnley, an ecologist with the Forestry Commission, said:

"The Border Mires are not only one of the the United Kingdom's most important wetland habitats, but they are of global significance."

Surge in demand for green fuel 'contributes to climate change and risks wildlife'

Emily Beament

DEMAND for "green" fuels which aim to cut emissions from transport is contributing to climate change, destroying habitats and pushing wildlife towards extinction, conservationists claimed today.

The concerns were raised as the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) comes into force today, requiring that all petrol and diesel sold on the forecourt consist of 2.5 per cent biofuels, rising to 5 per cent by 2010.

The obligation is designed to cut emissions from transport – responsible for more than a quarter of overall greenhouse gases in the UK – through the use of renewables.

The RSPB said forest clearance, the use of fertilisers which produce nitrous oxide and the energy used to convert crops to fuel and then transport it could make the overall emissions of biofuels higher than their oil or diesel equivalents. But farming leaders said different biofuel production systems had differing impacts on the environment and greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainable biofuels grown in the UK from feed wheat which would otherwise be exported, or oilseed rape on set-aside land, could be produced in large enough quantities to meet the RTFO, Peter Kendal, president of the National Farmers' Union, said.

The RSPB said biofuel crops grown elsewhere around the world had led to the extinction of one Brazilian bird, the Alagoas curassow, due to forest being cleared for sugar cane plantations.

The study, 'A Cool Approach to Biofuels', urges the government to switch investment in current biofuels to development of "second generation" renewable transport fuels which are more energy efficient. It also calls for a moratorium on the RTFO and no further targets in Europe – where a 10 per cent goal for biofuel use by 2020 has been proposed.

Graham Wynne, chief executive of the RSPB, said: "The impacts of biofuel production on forests and wetlands are already being seen worldwide."

Meanwhile, research from the British Market Research Bureau and consultancy BPRI found less than half of the public (48 per cent) believe biofuels are a long-term alternative to conventional fuels.

BRAZILIAN OIL BONANZA

A NEWLY discovered oil field off Brazil's coast could contain as much as 33 billion barrels, making it the world's third largest reserve, it emerged yesterday.

Last night the state-run Petrobras oil company declined comment on what would be the planet's largest oil find in decades. But its share price soared as the revelation was made by Haraldo Lima, the head of Brazil's National Petroleum Agency.

By early afternoon, the company's American depository shares were up 8.5 per cent in New York to $122.39 (£61.87).

Mr Lima told reporters that Petrobras "may have discovered a huge petroleum field that could contain reserves as large as 33 billion barrels".

Petrobras announced a blockbuster find of natural gas in February in an Atlantic Ocean field nicknamed Jupiter.

The new discoveries, alongside Brazil's Tupi field, could turn the country into a major oil and gas exporter and lead to it joining Opec.