Applications under the Electricity Act 1989: fees charged

Fees for applications where an EIA is not required

We have reviewed the fees required for applications where an EIA is not required, and the resources necessary to support their determination.

The fee tariffs in force for overhead line applications have changed very little since before the introduction of the Overhead Lines (Exemption) (Scotland) Regulations 2013. These regulations have already taken many of the low impact, straightforward overhead line proposals out of the scope of fees entirely, leaving only those which require more examination of information and more of our resources. We consider a fee increase for non- EIA section 37 applications is fair, to recognise the changing nature of applications and shift in resource costs post exemption regulations.

Previous fee scales did not distinguish between section 36 applications where EIA is required and those where it is not. Some projects may fall into the latter category. We consider that new fee tariffs should be introduced which recognise the reduced resources required for processing section 36 application which are not EIA development. We propose setting a minimum application fee for proposals with installed capacity exceeding 50 MW but not exceeding 100 MW equivalent to the planning fee which a development up to 50 MW would require, with proportionate increases as consented capacity increases.

Where section 36 consent in not required for marine projects, a marine licence with a separate fee structure is required under the Marine Scotland Act 2010 and under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. We propose the same regime but for offshore projects the threshold installed capacity exceeding 1 MW in Scottish Territorial waters and over 50 MW in the Scottish Renewable Energy Zone ( REZ).