Thursday, 11th December 2008
Call for sanctions on poorly sited wind farms
The ‘ecosystem service’ provided by upland habitats should be assessed before any consideration is given to building wind farms on such sensitive sites. This was the view expressed by Scottish Conservative Euro MP Struan Stevenson.
Commenting from Brussels on the new report issued today by the John Muir Trust – “Impacts of Wind Farms on Upland Habitats” – Struan Stevenson said:
“I welcome this new report from the John Muir Trust because it entirely vindicates the position that I have voiced for some time. The construction of giant wind turbines on sensitive upland habitats and particularly on peatland in Scotland damages the environment and adds to global warming.
“I have long argued that deep peatland is a natural global store for CO2. Disrupting these sensitive habitats with the construction of giant turbines and their associated concrete foundations, access roads, pylons, borrow pits and cabling trenches simply destroys the peat bog and releases vast quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere, rendering the whole development CO2 negative in terms of its impact on climate change.”
Mr Stevenson has previously voiced concerns about such developments preventing the peat bog from continuing to function as a carbon sump, as well as destroying important habitats for wildlife. He continued:
“Allowing wind farms to be built on such sites is the Scottish equivalent of cutting down rain forests in the Amazon. Scotland has a unique resource in these precious upland areas and the service they provide to the environment both nationally and globally should be carefully assessed before any consideration is given to allowing their disruption.
"Carbon dioxide is absorbed into forests and forest soils by trees and other plants which store carbon and release oxygen into the atmosphere. The gradual process of decaying organic material leads to a build up over many thousands of years of CO2.
Mr Stevenson concluded:
“Peat bogs in the EU, the majority of which are in Scotland, store billions of tonnes of CO2. I urge the Scottish Government to call a moratorium on all proposed windfarm developments on peatland in Scotland, including Dava Moor in Grantown on Spey and Kergord in Shetland, where vast areas of peatland habitat will be destroyed.
“I will immediately bring the John Muir Trust’s report to the attention of the European Commission to see if they can incorporate its recommendations into future EU environmental guidelines.”
