Niamh Mutton

PEATLANDS : IRELAND’S LANDSCAPE MACHINES

“Enhancing the Carbon Machine: Restoring degraded bogs on wind energy landscapes to ensure a sustainable and biodiverse future for Ireland.”

Peatlands cover a significant portion of Ireland's land surface. For centuries these habitats have been drained, harvested and repurposed for economic gain. For the last 32 years Ireland's raised and blanket bogs have become sites for some of the country’s largest wind farms. These developments have often further degraded these sites, and do nothing for habitat restoration.

For centuries peatlands have been a key feature of Ireland's energy landscape. This has shifted from fossil fuels to the rapidly expanding renewable energy industry. Ireland is facing both a biodiversity and climate crisis; the restoration of the country’s peatlands is top priority. This developing industry presents an opportunity for sustainable energy production, while simultaneously addressing the urgent need for peatland restoration.

This thesis analyses the historic relationship between Ireland and its peatlands, before looking in depth at the restoration process and how to apply this to a real wind farm site.