Calls to protect Welsh peatlands amid surge in renewable energy developments
Nation.Cymru Staff
Campaigners are calling for greater protection for Wales’ peatlands amid claims that dozens of proposed renewable energy developments could threaten more than a third of the country’s peat resource.
A Senedd petition, ‘Stop all developments on peatlands across Wales!’, has been launched by community campaigners, including Waun Hesgog Action Group, Friends of the Earth Cymru, Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales and the Cambrian Mountains Society.
The petition reads: “Peatlands in Wales provide important carbon storage, they store 30% of our land-based carbon. They are essential for our survival: healthy peatlands sequester more carbon than all the world’s forests combined.
“They also provide crucial habitat for plants, animals, birds and insects, and help prevent flooding in the face of increasingly erratic weather. Peatland cannot be moved or recreated; once fragmented or destroyed it’s lost.”
It highlights a number of potential threats to Wales’ peatlands, including commercial forestry and large wind farms, specifically citing Waun Hesgog energy park and Lluest y Gwynt wind farm, both currently seeking planning permission.
It also cites increasing use of off-road vehicles, wildfires and seasonal burning, as well as road building as threats to peatland.
“Decarbonising energy and increasing tree coverage are important for tackling the climate crisis, but it cannot be to the detriment of peatland!” the petition continues.
“The 60 or so large scale industrial renewable developments proposed threaten around 36% of Wales’s peatland resource.
“All peatlands in Wales must be protected and restored as an urgent priority in the battle against climate change.
“Peat extraction for gardens has been banned, now we must stop far larger volumes from being destroyed by these other activities.”
The petition, launched in April and currently at 1,400 of the 10,000 signatures necessary to be considered for a Senedd debate, was submitted by Jennifer Lloyd, Local Action and Community Campaigns Officer at Friends of the Earth Cymru.
Stop Bute Energy, a campaign group opposing Bute Energy’s proposed Esgair Galed Energy Park in the Hafren and Glaslyn uplands of mid Wales, has also supported the petition.
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The group argues that the development, which would include 26 wind turbines, could damage the landscape, wildlife and environmentally important habitats, including peatland.
Peatlands are wetlands formed from partially decomposed vegetation which accumulates over thousands of years in waterlogged conditions.
Because of the large quantities of carbon held within peat, healthy peatlands can play an important role in tackling climate change, while damaged or dried-out peat can release stored carbon back into the atmosphere.
The habitats can also support a wide range of plants and wildlife, while holding water and slowing its movement through the landscape.
Concerns are mounting after several wildfires across Wales this summer damaged peat-rich areas, with Nick Thomas, from Natural Resources Wales, telling the BBC that some affected habitats could take centuries to recover.
NRW is also responsible for the Welsh Government-funded National Peatland Action Programme, which coordinates restoration work across Wales, focusing on issues including erosion, drainage, afforested peatlands and the management of blanket and lowland peat.
Set up in 2020, the 5-year programme restored 3,000 hectares of peatland and safeguarded more than 1.6m tonnes of stored carbon, with a second phase running from 2026 to 2030.
However, in their 2025 State of Natural Resources Report, NRW said there had been an “unparalleled rise” in recent years in renewable energy applications with the potential to affect peatland habitats, peat soils and other semi-natural upland habitats.
The Senedd Petition, Stop all developments on peatlands across Wales!, is available here.
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