ScottishPower Renewables has completed one of the most ambitious peatland restoration projects ever consented to a developer in the UK. The £1.4 million project marks a significant milestone in valuable habitat conservation and climate change mitigation at Whitelee Windfarm, bringing SPRs investment in peatland restoration to £4m to date.

Peatland restoration work example from Black Law windfarm

• 15 years of peatland restoration work complete at Whitelee Windfarm

• Area the size of Falkirk restored (1,113 hectares) with the potential to store the equivalent of 3.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide

• Two groundbreaking methods developed – setting industry standards

Degraded peatlands release harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, accounting for around 15% of Scotland’s emissions, but healthy peatlands store carbon and have a net cooling effect on the climate, so they’re critical to mitigating the effects of climate change.

Over the last 15 years, SPR’s ecology team, in collaboration with Strath Caulaidh Ltd, has restored 1,113 hectares (an area the size of Falkirk) of peat bog at Whitelee, which has the potential to store the equivalent of 3.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Not only does peat lock up carbon, it’s also a valuable habitat for all sorts of wildlife. A diverse range of bird species and vibrant vegetation is thriving on the UK’s largest onshore windfarm; from wild cranberries to carnivorous plants like sundews, Whitelee now hosts a rich array of life.

Impressed by ScottishPower Renewables’ commitment to delivering high quality habitat management and enhancement at its windfarm sites, RSPB Scotland nominated SPR for a Sustainable Development Award, which it won, at the 2016 RSPB Nature of Scotland Awards for its work in developing innovative and industry-leading peatland restoration techniques.

Glenn Norris, Ecologist at ScottishPower Renewables said, “At Whitelee, not only are we curbing carbon emissions through renewable energy technology, we’re also using peatland’s natural carbon sink potential. By restoring degraded peatlands we’re stopping them from emitting carbon dioxide and helping them store carbon in the soil, making them a carbon sink rather than a source; the benefits are two-fold.”

Scottish Government Agriculture Minister, Jim Fairlie said, “Restoring degraded peatland is one of the most cost-effective ways we can reduce carbon emissions and fight climate change. There are many benefits, such as reducing flooding risks, improving water quality and improving local biodiversity.

“By increasing the pace and scale of peatland restoration we can restore our natural environment and tackle climate change more effectively and I am very pleased to mark this important milestone at Whitelee.”

Two groundbreaking methods emerged from SPR’s research: ground smoothing and wave damming. Ground smoothing treats peatland previously planted with coniferous forests, by flattening ridges and furrows left after tree felling so that drainage is minimised, creating ideal wetland conditions. Wave damming uses diggers to compress peat from both sides of a ditch, forming effective water-retaining barriers.

The techniques have set industry standards and now form the backbone of NatureScot’s technical compendium on peatland restoration.

Amanda Ophof, NatureScot Peatland ACTION Project Manager, said, ‘Peatland Action’s Technical Compendium is the result of a collaborative effort to capture the variety of techniques available for rewetting a peatland.

“It is great to be learning from the renewables industry where new techniques have been developed along with the evidence to support its success.”

Whitelee’s transformation from former forestry plantation to a renewable energy hub powering the equivalent of 350,000 homes, that also functions as a carbon-storing bog, haven for wildlife and much-loved public space, exemplifies SPR’s commitment to sustainability. The 15-year project has catalysed the broader peatland restoration movement, inspiring other renewable energy developers to follow suit.