In order to highlight the true extent of the media work we carry out as the voice of Scotland’s renewable energy industry, the Monthly Briefing will now include a dedicated section bringing you a selection of our most recent media coverage.

Ewan McInnes
Media Manager
E: emcinnes@scottishrenewables.com

Roundtable with Tom Arthur MSP, Minister for Public Finance

Nick Sharpe attended a roundtable with several Scottish industry bodies and Tom Arthur MSP, Minister for Public Finance.

Attendees, who included the Scotch Whisky Association, Homes for Scotland and Scottish Retail Consortium, agreed that a number of cross-cutting issues affected Scotland’s economy as a whole – with electricity network upgrades making the top of that list.

If you’d like to discuss our engagement with the Scottish Government, or politics more widely, please email Nick or Jack.

Media reaction: Scotland’s Energy Strategy will be published more than two years later than anticipated

The Scottish Government has announced its Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan will be published by next Summer – more than two years later than anticipated.

Responding, Nick Sharpe said: “It is now more than four years since the Scottish Government declared a climate emergency. This document was due in Spring 2022, and a delay of more than two years is not the pace at which policy making should move in an emergency.”

News release: Scotland needs to deliver a detailed plan for Energy and Just Transition now, says industry body

Scottish Renewables outlined its top priorities for the Scottish Government ahead of its Programme for Government and expressed concern at the lack of critical detail in the draft proposals for achieving a net-zero energy system.

Commenting, Claire Mack said: “If we are to realise the vast opportunities of projects like ScotWind, as well as ensuring a just transition for our clean energy suppliers, it is essential that a delivery plan for Scotland’s Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan is made clear immediately.”

Renewable Energy Breakfast

To mark the Scottish Parliament’s return from summer recess, Scottish Renewables held a Renewable Energy Breakfast for MSPs at the Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh. This provided an informal opportunity for MSPs to meet member organisations representing a range of technologies and hear their priorities for enabling the clean energy transition over the term ahead.

We were delighted to be joined by more than 15 MSPs representing all the parties in Holyrood. Our thanks to ScottishPower Renewables, Ocean Winds, SSEN Transmission, RES, StorTera and Forth Ports for attending.

If you are interested in similar opportunities with MSPs, please contact Jack.

Onshore Wind Sector Deal

Claire Mack appeared on BBC Reporting Scotland’s Six O’Clock News on the day of the Onshore Wind Sector Deal being announced (September 21) where she was interviewed about the agreement between industry and the Scottish Government.

The announcement had significant broadcast coverage featuring on STV, BBC Scotland TV and radio and LBC while it featured extensively in the trade and business media.

Get in touch with Ewan if you would like to discuss this.

Programme for Government

Our press release Scotland needs to deliver detailed plan for energy and just transition now featured across trade, business and traditional media including in the Times and the Scotsman.

Our recommendations for the Programme for Government also featured prominently in the trade press, the business pages and the national newspapers.

Onshore wind on Skye

On September 19 Faye McLeod of Skye Wind appeared on BBC Good Morning Scotland to make claims about the negative impact onshore wind is going to have on Skye. The interview featured several inaccuracies so we approached the editor of GMS to offer an interview with Nick Sharpe.

Nick appeared on the show two days later to address these misconceptions. In the seven-minute segment, Nick also discussed the Onshore Wind Sector Deal being announced later that day and was asked about the Prime Minister’s changes to UK policy on reducing its carbon emissions which were published earlier in the week.

Get in touch with Ewan if you would like more information.

REMA second consultation

Scottish Renewables met with DESNZ officials to discuss which policy options would be carried forward and which options would be discounted in the next Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) consultation.

DESNZ confirmed that nodal pricing would be ruled out but that zonal pricing would be considered further alongside a package with national pricing and enhanced locational signals. There will be two lead options for CfD reform: the current CfD (i.e. with payments based on output) with reform to reference prices and deemed CfD. DESNZ indicated it will be minded to discount the ‘Cap and Floor’ CfD model. There was no further guidance on the timing of the second consultation with DESNZ restating that it will be published sometime in autumn.

Blog: A theory of evolution for locational signals

Meeting with Stephen Flynn MP on CfD Allocation Round 5

Scottish Renewables met with Stephen Flynn MP to discuss the results of CfD Allocation round 5 (AR5) as well as set out our key asks for AR6. We highlighted how the results of AR5 are a serious setback for the offshore wind sector and discussed what needs to change ahead of AR6 to ensure the allocation round is a success.

If you would like to discuss Scottish Renewables’ engagement regarding AR6, please contact Andrew.

RO Fixed Price Certificates call for evidence second draft response

Scottish Renewables has prepared a second draft response to the DESNZ-led call for evidence on introducing Fixed Price Certificates into Renewables Obligation schemes.

Constraint management market report

Scottish Renewables is commissioning a report on regional constraint management markets to explore their potential to improve locational signals within current market arrangements.

If you are interested in contributing to this work, please contact Andrew.

Submissions *OPEN NOW* - Supply Chain Impact Statement 2023/24

Scottish Renewables is seeking submissions for the document from suppliers based in Scotland who have renewable energy successes to share. We are looking for good news from across the sector including new contract wins, innovations, new offices, growing teams and increasing ambitions in technologies from offshore wind to green hydrogen and low-carbon heat.

Entries can be submitted through this online form - it is free, quick and easy.

For inspiration, last year’s document is available on our website. 

If you are interested in working closely with us on the Impact Statement and increasing your organisation's visibility across the renewables sector, contact Emma for information on the sponsorship packages available.

Scottish Renewables' response to the Economy and Fair Work committee call for evidence on Just Transition for the North East and Moray

Scottish Renewables prepared a response to the Economy and Fair Work committee's call for evidence on Just Transition for the North East and Moray.

Our response focused on the need to support SMEs and skills development in our submission. It also highlighted that whilst the Green Freeport program is welcomed by industry, and initiatives such as the Collaborative Framework Strategic Investment Model provide a focus on unlocking investment, further development measures will be required. All strategic Scottish ports must be supported and Scottish Renewables urges the Scottish Government to maximise the economic benefits of renewable energy projects by delivering crucial financial support as soon as possible.

If you have any questions please do get in touch. 

Supply chain opportunities

As an exciting new addition to the Supply Chain Forum, and to ensure members have visibility of upcoming opportunities, Scottish Renewables will now regularly share information on upcoming procurement activity through our Supply Chain Forum emails. This will include live tenders, Meet-the-Buyer events and webinars.

Entries can be submitted by clients at all levels of project development including developers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), tier 1s, tier 2s, tier 3s and beyond, and from all renewable energy technologies.

Members looking to advertise opportunities should complete this online form or email Sophie with the relevant details by 5pm on Monday, October 23.

Supply Chain Networking Reception

Scottish Renewables and the Scottish Offshore Wind Council (SOWEC) were delighted to bring together suppliers, developers, Scottish Government Ministers and MSPs to showcase the depth and breadth of the Scottish renewable energy supply chain.

Speakers provided updates on key initiatives such as the Collaborative Framework and the Strategic Investment Model (SIM), providing a backdrop for the evening's discussions. The Scottish Renewables team caught up with representatives from a number of companies including Thistle Wind Partners, Clarksons, ReBlade and Montrose Port Authority.

Port of Aberdeen, South Harbour Inauguration

Scottish Renewables member Port of Aberdeen officially opened its “transformational” £420 million South Harbour expansion project on Friday, September 22.

Attending and commenting on the milestone, Claire Mack said it was a significant moment for the net zero energy transition: “Scotland’s ports will play a crucial role in supporting the delivery of a cleaner, greener energy system and they will all need significant investment to support the enormous ambition shared by government and industry for developing offshore wind projects in Scotland’s seas."

She also urged the Scottish and UK governments to urgently invest in port infrastructure at “the level of ambition displayed at Aberdeen” to secure the necessary supply chain and manufacturing bases required for mass offshore wind deployment by 2030.

Publication of SRUC report on approaches to measuring biodiversity

The Scottish Government has published a commissioned research report by SRUC on approaches to measuring biodiversity in Scotland. Following on from the report’s recommendations, NatureScot has been tasked to develop an adapted biodiversity metric for application within Scotland’s planning system. 

The Scottish Onshore Wind Sector Deal includes the commitment “By Q3 2024, the sector, Government and other relevant stakeholders will collaborate on a consistent, evidence-based, proportionate national approach to measuring and evidencing biodiversity enhancements on onshore wind project sites, including consideration of the approach to offsite enhancement.” A meeting of the Sector Deal Strategic Leadership Group will be held on November 1 and collaboration to develop a biodiversity metric will be on the agenda.

If you would like to discuss this, please contact Morag.

Nominations for Scotland’s new National Park open

The Scottish Government has announced the opening of nominations for Scotland’s next National Park, with communities and organisations invited to submit their proposals. The government has also published information on the nominations process. The deadline for submissions is February 29, 2024. Areas that have submitted early expressions of interest include: Galloway; Scottish Borders; Tay Forest; Lochaber; Skye and Raasay; Affric to Alladale; Glen Affric; The Lammermuirs; Largo Bay; and Loch Awe. 

I would draw members' attention to the statement below, contained in the guidance:

‘All areas of Scotland are eligible to submit nominations to become a new National Park (including those that have current or potential onshore wind developments). To ensure any National Park addresses the climate emergency and supports progressive development, we will develop new bespoke planning policy on onshore wind to be applied in new National Parks. This means that a new National Park will be treated differently to existing National Parks with respect to NPF4 policy for onshore wind.’

Land Reform Bill expected to be published

The Scottish Government is to give ministers greater powers over land sales including some large family-owned farms in a land reform bill outlined in the Scottish Programme for Government published on September 5. Mairi Gougeon MSP has confirmed new legislation is being drawn up and would help ensure large land holdings operated in the public interest. She said: “Our new land reform bill will improve transparency of land ownership, help ensure large-scale land holdings deliver in the public interest and empower communities by providing more opportunities to own land and have more say in how land in their area is used."

Read SR’s consultation response to Land Reform in a Net-Zero Nation.

Scottish Onshore Wind Sector Deal published

After eighteen months of hard work led by Scottish Renewables, the Scottish Onshore Wind Sector Deal was signed by ministers and industry at our Onshore Wind Conference on September 21.

The Onshore Wind Sector Deal sets out commitments from the Scottish Government and the onshore wind industry to deliver upon our collective ambition of 20GW of onshore wind in Scotland by 2030 whilst delivering maximum benefit to Scotland.

Commenting, Claire Mack said: “An incredible amount of hard work has gone in to making this deal happen and it is a real benefit to the industry knowing that the time onshore wind farms take to go through planning will be halved to only 12 months. It is also encouraging to see onshore wind farm operators and the Scottish Government committed to creating a sustainable solution and a circular economy supply chain for the recycling of wind turbine component parts.”

This is a significant achievement that contains commitments that will ensure Scotland continues to be a leader in onshore wind. Our heartfelt thanks to all SR members who contributed to this work and particularly to Barry Carruthers, Managing Director, Onshore UK & Ireland, ScottishPower Renewables for his role as chair of the G12/S5 developers’ group.

SR is currently working on an implementation plan with the Scottish Government which is due to be finalised in early November. As with the development of the deal, the implementation will be a collaborative process with the Sector Deal Leads and G12/S5 and SR policy working groups involved.

If you would like to discuss this, please contact Morag.

Media reaction: Offshore energy workforce can increase 50% by 2030, new report finds

A new report by Robert Gordon University has found that the UK offshore energy workforce can increase by up to 50% from over 150,000 in 2023 to 225,000 by the end of the decade, with new renewable jobs outnumbering oil and gas roles if a successful transition is achieved.

However, the new Powering up the Workforce report also warns that if the rate of investment and activity in renewables in the UK does not increase significantly, at a time when oil and gas activities are in rapid decline, then up to 95,000 potential offshore energy jobs will be at risk.

Commenting, Nick Sharpe said: “Scotland’s large-scale offshore wind projects are central to the UK’s new energy system, replacing old fossil fuel power stations with cheap, clean electricity.

“But today’s report from Robert Gordon University, fresh on the back of the UK Government’s disappointing Contracts for Difference announcement last week, is further evidence that Scotland is at serious risk of losing its place at the heart of the green energy revolution.”

National Marine Plan 2 Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Scoping Report consultation

Launched on September 25, the Scottish Government’s consultation is seeking views on the Strategic Assessment (SEA) Scoping Report which will feed into the SEA process. SR is currently developing a response to the consultation with member input which closes on October 30.

The Scoping Report sets out the proposed scope and level of detail for the strategic environmental assessment of National Marine Plan 2, along with a description of the proposed assessment methodology. Further information on the SEA scoping process is provided on the consultation page. The Scottish Government intends to publish a summary of responses received and actions undertaken in an annex to the Environmental Report. 

B2D-Gov meetings

As part of our commitment to ensure Offshore Wind Enabling meetings are action-driven, SR has proactively rescheduled 6-weekly reoccurring meetings with the Scottish Government’s Marine and Offshore Wind Directorates respectively.

The purpose of Barriers to Deployment-Government (B2D-Gov) is to coordinate action between the suite of SR/SOWEC sub-groups and the Scottish Government to unlock the deployment of offshore wind in Scottish waters. Following the first productive meeting (September 29), B2D-Gov action-driven meetings will now occur on a 6-weekly basis between SR and The Scottish Government.

Get in touch with Mark if you would like to discuss this.

Good Practice Principles for Community Benefit and Shared Ownership from offshore renewable energy

SR continues to engage with the Scottish Government’s Offshore Wind Directorate via B2D-Gov on behalf of members regarding the anticipated draft policy for community benefit and shared ownership from offshore renewable energy.

The Offshore Wind Directorate confirmed it is “fully committed to reviewing and updating its Good Practice Principles for Community Benefit and Shared Ownership from offshore renewable energy.” Advising it will engage with its important stakeholders ahead of the public consultation which is still planned in due course. Before it does that, it is ensuring it has have full understanding of the scope of work previously undertaken before it was transferred over to the new Offshore Wind Directorate.

Offshore Wind Conference 2024

Scottish Renewables' Offshore Wind Conference returns bigger than ever before on January 25 & 26 to kickstart a critical year of action to address the barriers affecting the deployment of offshore wind and the success of Scotland’s supply chain companies.

Secure your place today to be a part of supply chain and offshore wind collaboration in action.

Event bookings and sponsorship opportunities are open now. The conference programme will be published later in October.

Scottish Renewables' Heat Summit 2023

SR welcomed more than 100 attendees to its first-ever Heat Summit, held in partnership with Built Environment - Smarter Transformation (BE-ST).

The day kicked off with a Ministerial Address from Patrick Harvie MSP, Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights, followed by engaging discussions with industry experts and a tour of the BE-ST facility.

Key topics discussed included fabric-first approaches to achieving warmer homes, barriers to heat pump deployment and the policy changes needed to pick up the pace of Scotland's heat transition.

Media reaction: Latest projection of Transmission Network use of Service (TNoS) tariffs

National Grid ESO has announced its projection of Transmission Network Use of Service (TNUoS) tariffs for 2029/30 – 2033/34.

Responding, Morag Watson said: “The latest projection of TNUoS tariffs is catastrophic for Scotland’s renewable energy industry and says to investors ‘no new projects should be built in Scotland’.

“This is completely at odds with UK and Scottish Government policy, which makes clear that building new renewable generation in Scotland is essential if we are to meet net-zero.”

The Scottish Government’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee inquiry on 'Scotland’s electricity infrastructure: inhibitor or enabler of our energy ambitions?'

On September 12, The Scottish Government’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee published conclusions and recommendations into its inquiry on ‘Scotland’s electricity infrastructure: inhibitor or enabler of our energy ambitions?’

Back in March 2023, Morag Watson gave verbal evidence to the committee, and we also responded in writing. We are delighted with the outcome of the inquiry which reinforces a lot of our messaging in this area.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this in more detail, please contact Stephen.

TNUoS Task Force  

A meeting of the TNUoS Task Force took place on September 15. Members can find all relevant information about the Task Force such as meeting papers, presentations, webinars and podcasts on the charging futures webpage.  

For further information, please contact Stephen.

Ofgem’s open letter on strategic transmission charging reform

On September 11 Ofgem published an open letter on strategic transmission charging reform and SR has published a summary on our website.

The letter on strategic transmission charging reform sets out Ofgem's initial thinking on the future role and design of electricity transmission network charging and why reform may be required. Ofgem will consider these issues in the context of fundamental system change and policy reform, such as that being considered as part of the UK government’s Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA).

Ofgem intends to engage with stakeholders on this at the next Charging Futures Forum, which will be held on October 31.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this in more detail, please contact Stephen.

Grid & Systems Working Group

Scottish Renewables hosted the quarterly meeting of our Grid and Systems Working Group on September 20.

The topics of discussion included:

• Recent consultations:
  - Strategy and Policy Statement Consultation (SPS)
  - Early-Stage Assessment for Anticipatory Investment
  - Regulatory Framework, including Market Arrangements, for Offshore Hybrid Assets: Multi-Purpose Interconnectors and Non-Standard Interconnectors
• Current consultation:
  - Future System Operator: second policy consultation and project update
• Connections:
  - CMP376: Queue Management/Connections Queue
  - Connections reform consultation
• HND/HNDFUE Update
• TNUOS – Task Force update
• Ofgem’s Open letter on strategic transmission charging reform
• Scottish Renewables report - ‘Why investing in electricity transmission infrastructure is a priority for Scotland’ 
• The Scottish Government’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee – ‘Scotland’s electricity infrastructure: inhibitor or enabler of our energy ambitions?’

For further information, please contact Stephen.

Community Benefits for Electricity Transmission Network Infrastructure - Industry Workshop

Scottish Renewables attended an Industry Workshop held by the Department for Energy Security and Net-Zero (DESNZ) on September 20.

This is in response to the community benefits for electricity transmission network infrastructure consultation that DESNZ published earlier in the year for which we responded.

Scottish Renewables will continue to engage in this area.

Ofgem Local Governance Working Group: Direction of travel for the RSP

Scottish Renewables attended Ofgem’s Local Governance Working Group: Direction of travel for the RSP on September 7. These working groups are in relation to Ofgem's consultation on the Future of Local Energy Institutions and Governance which we responded to in May.

For further information, please contact Stephen.

Solar Vision commitment in Programme for Government

The Programme for Government 2023 to 2024 was published by The Scottish Government on September 5 and includes the commitment to "Publish a Solar Vision for Scotland, setting out our ambition for solar and how we will facilitate its growth."

Scottish Renewables will be meeting with Scottish Government officials on October 11 to discuss the content of the vision and plans for its implementation.

For further information, please contact Helen.