The Scottish Government “remains strongly committed” to offshore wind after an Edinburgh court overturned planning consent for 2.3GW of Outer Forth and Tay projects.
Energy minister Paul Wheelhouse (pictured) today affirmed Holyrood’s position on offshore renewables and said ministers would “carefully consider” Lord Stewart’s judgement.
Wheelhouse also said the government would “work constructively” with RSPB and developers in the wake of the judgement.
“The Scottish Government remains strongly committed to the development of offshore wind energy, as this key low-carbon technology offers a huge economic opportunity for Scotland, but, crucially, through helping to decarbonise our electricity supply, it also has a key role to play in our fight against the threat posed by climate change to both our society and our natural environment,” said Wheelhouse.
“Clearly, protecting Scotland’s marine environment is of paramount importance: it is at the heart of the Scottish Government’s approach to offshore renewable energy applications, and we are keen to work constructively with both the RSPB and renewable energy developers to ensure the sector has a bright future in Scotland.”
Scottish Renewables said the decision by the Edinburgh court was “extremely disappointing”.
Senior policy manager Lindsay Roberts said: “These three important projects together would transform the scale of Scotland’s offshore wind industry.”
She added: “Given the very significant levels of investment, employment and clean electricity these projects would deliver, I am sure that the Scottish Government and the developers who are involved will now want to look at the judgement in detail and assess the ruling before deciding how best to proceed.”
Renewable UK deputy chief executive Maf Smith also said it would “take stock” of the court’s ruling.
“These projects represent a multibillion-pound investment in Britain’s energy infrastructure and we hope that they still have a future,” he said.
Image: Scottish Government
Holyrood ‘committed’ to offshore
Scots back industry after court overturns consent for 2.3GW of projects
By EBS