New Build Heat Standard (amended) 2024: business and regulatory impact assessment

10. Use of peat

38. Peat heating systems are permitted under Option 2 (as secondary heating systems) and in Option 3. However, it is very challenging to establish the number of peat systems likely to be installed within new buildings as there is very limited data on the number of buildings which use peat as a heating fuel. The number is expected to be low with a high prevalence among crofts, with there being approximately 20,000 crofts, mainly in the Highlands & Islands and in designated areas of Scotland. Further, this fuel is typically used in systems which can burn multiple fuels, including wood and coal. In turn, this makes it very difficult to estimate emissions impacts.

39. While we do know that in 2022, domestic peat extraction (which represents individuals cutting peat for personal use including burning for fuel) resulted in 0.7 MtCO2e in emissions^[11], and industrial extraction (which represents commercial businesses cutting peat to sell for horticulture or burning, with the majority being used for horticulture) resulted in 0.09 MtCO2e in emissions, it is very difficult to estimate what proportion of this could be attributed to new build properties using peat. For the reasons set out above, we anticipate that this proportion would be very low.