The Scottish administration has been forced to admit that it has no way of knowing if the carbon saving claims made by energy companies are accurate. Acknowledging that it leaves such unimportant data to the multi million pound industry !
The John Muir Trust conservation charity now claim that no large wind farms should be approved by planners until the developers' environmental claims can be independently confirmed by government scientists.
Both the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) say verifying claims of "carbon payback" by wind-farm companies is not part of their remit.
The carbon payback period - the length of time it will take for the wind farm to compensate for carbon emissions resulting from its development - is often highlighted by firms to promote their green credentials.In their response to the proposed Viking wind farm on Shetland, SEPA said they had been requested by the Scottish Government to review the carbon balance of wind developments but that they had no funding or expertise available.
Helen McDade, head of policy for the John Muir Trust, said it was "extraordinary" that no government agency is equipped to give an independent answer on carbon payback.She added: "For the Scottish Government to deliver on its commitment to reducing carbon emissions, it needs to give its agencies the resources to effectively review this important aspect of applications."Without independent auditing of carbon payback, we are basically forced to rely on the word of developers who stand to make millions of pounds if an application goes ahead."We need to stick to a precautionary principle and avoid siting major developments of this scale on fragile peatlands, which are an important carbon store."
SNH, which is officially consulted by the Scottish Government over the impact of wind farms, confirmed that it does not assess carbon payback claims made by developers.
SNH, which is officially consulted by the Scottish Government over the impact of wind farms, confirmed that it does not assess carbon payback claims made by developers.
Spokesman Calum Macfarlane said: "It is not part of our remit. If a carbon payback figure is mentioned by a developer, it is not something that features in our response. We look at landscape, wildlife and habitat considerations."
SEPA also confirmed it does not carry out its own audit of developers' carbon payback claims.Viking Energy has cut the number of turbines proposed for its contentious wind farm by 23 and says the carbon payback time for the £685 million project will be less than one year.The downward revision of the carbon payback time stems from an estimate that more than two-thirds of peat on the site is "already deteriorating and releasing stored carbon"
SEPA also confirmed it does not carry out its own audit of developers' carbon payback claims.Viking Energy has cut the number of turbines proposed for its contentious wind farm by 23 and says the carbon payback time for the £685 million project will be less than one year.The downward revision of the carbon payback time stems from an estimate that more than two-thirds of peat on the site is "already deteriorating and releasing stored carbon"
However the company admits that it could in fact stretch to 15 years due to the carbon released from the disturbed peatlands.
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→Scottish carbon statistics...leave it to the energy companies!
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