WRc environmental consultant, Etisang Abraham, examines the role of floating tracks in supporting renewable energy infrastructure developments while protecting peatland integrity
The expansion of onshore wind energy is central to achieving national and global decarbonisation targets. However, some proposed wind farm projects may be located in areas with peatland ecosystems that act as globally significant carbon stores and biodiversity habitats.
The number of onshore wind developments is increasing across the UK. When this infrastructure is built in areas with peatlands, conventional construction methods, such as cut-and-fill access roads, can cause long-term peatland degradation by releasing stored carbon, undermining climate objectives. Floating track technology offers an alternative, distributing the load across the peat surface to reduce ground disturbance and hydrological disruption.
As renewable electricity generation will continue to play a key role in achieving the UK’s ambitious 2050 net-zero targets, its continued development should be supported. This is essential given that electricity consumption underpins other sectors that drive up carbon emissions, such as buildings, industry, manufacturing and transportation.
Planning is shifting
As part of these climate ambitions, the planning regime in England now requires most developers to deliver at least a 10% biodiversity net gain. In Wales, developers are obligated to achieve a net benefit for biodiversity, defined as leaving the biodiversity and ecosystems in a better state than before. Under the Scottish planning regime, major developments, including renewable energy projects, are required to promote environmental conservation, restoration and biodiversity enhancement.
Peatlands play a vital role in the environment; although they cover just 3% of the world’s surface, they store about 30% of soil carbon. In the UK, peatlands store about 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon. Apart from acting as carbon sinks, peatlands provide habitats for multiple species, including endangered wildlife such as large heath butterflies, emperor moths, jewel beetles and rare wading birds like dunlins. Peatlands are essential for water quality, as they act as natural filters, and 70% of drinking water in the UK comes from peat-dominated upland areas. They also have cultural and heritage value and flood risk management benefits, as peatland vegetation slows surface water flow during rainfall to prevent flooding in rural towns.
However, 80% of UK peatlands are degraded. This poses the risk of releasing stored carbon, which would increase carbon emissions in the atmosphere. There is therefore a need to conserve and restore peatlands to enable them to perform their ecosystem functions.
A time when peatland may be disturbed during renewable energy development is in the construction of infrastructure such as turbine foundations and hardstanding, substations and access tracks.
While it is expedient to increase renewable energy development to meet emission reduction targets, there is a need to ensure that impacts to vulnerable receptors, such as peatlands, are avoided where possible through careful design of infrastructure. Where avoidance is not possible, efforts must be made to minimise and mitigate adverse impacts and thereafter compensate for any damage to peatland.
How can we tackle the issue?
Minimising or mitigating the impacts of renewable energy projects on peatlands can involve choosing different engineering approaches. For instance, in areas with peat soils, rather than using cut-and-fill construction methods for access roads that require ground excavation, a more environmentally friendly alternative would be to use a floating road in sections of the access track overlying the peat. A floating road is considered an appropriate engineering solution that minimises the adverse impacts of excavation on peat and is recommended for use in areas of deep peat.
Floating roads are constructed directly on peat soils; however, this does not usually require excavation of the soil, as would happen in the case of cut-and-fill roads. Instead, the floating road relies on the strength of the underlying peat soil for its support. For a floating road, a balance is achieved when the weight of the road and the strength of the underlying peat soil come to an equilibrium. Given that peat soils consist of compressible material, at the initial stage of floating road construction, the load causes short-term compression. Over time, the floating road minimises this by spreading the load, using denser peatland vegetation and maintaining the peatland hydrology. When long-term consolidation has occurred, this stabilises the water pressure and continues to support peatland vegetation and ecosystems.
As floating road construction on peat has evolved, modern construction methods involve the use of a geotextile membrane spread over the peat soil to separate the peat surface from the construction aggregates. This provides a stabilised layer that ensures that the overall weight and thickness of the road and the associated impact on the peat soil beneath are reduced.
If not properly designed or constructed, floating roads can alter peatland hydrology, while the use of alkaline aggregates may disrupt the natural acidity of peat soils. To prevent such impacts, construction activities should be overseen by an environmental clerk of works (ECoW) or other qualified professional, and comprehensive peat condition assessments and ground investigations should be carried out before construction begins.
Balancing climate change measures with environmental protections
The transition to renewable energy is essential to achieving global and national carbon emission reduction targets, but it must not come at the expense of critical carbon-rich ecosystems such as peatlands. Peatlands are invaluable for carbon storage, water regulation, biodiversity and cultural heritage, yet they remain highly vulnerable to physical disturbance during infrastructure development. Floating track construction offers a practical and sustainable engineering solution that enables renewable energy expansion while protecting the integrity of peatland ecosystems.
By distributing loads and maintaining natural hydrological conditions, floating tracks reduce peat excavation, limit carbon release and support long-term ecosystem stability. As policy frameworks increasingly require biodiversity enhancement and carbon-conscious design, floating track technologies represent a way to reconcile environmental responsibility with energy security. Embedding such low-impact engineering practices within renewable energy planning will be essential to achieving net-zero targets without undermining the very ecosystems that help regulate the global climate.
Etisang Abraham is an environmental consultant at WRc. He has a doctorate in renewable energy and environmental law and specialises in assessing the environmental impacts of renewable energy projects on the water environment and ground conditions, including peatland. An Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP) member and a Registered Environmental Practitioner with the Society for the Environment, Etisang has experience in sediment and water quality management for infrastructure developments.
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