How can rewetted peatland contribute to energy supply?

Abstract

Drained peatland accounts for around 4 % of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions1. Rewetting degraded peatland can reduce the emissions, but agricultural incomes may be impacted. Paludiculture, i.e., growing wetness-tolerant crops such as reeds, can be an alternative, but the revenues are usually lower than before and can even be negative2. To investigate how peatland areas in Germany can best be used from the energy system perspective, we compare the energy potential of common reed on rewetted peatland as an energy crop with the power generation potential of wind turbines and photovoltaics on the same areas.